African cheetahs to be released back into Kuno

New Delhi : The African cheetahs brought to India as part of the world's first intercontinental translocation of big cats will be released back into the wild in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in a phased manner starting October-end, officials said on Monday.

According to the officials, the Agni-Vayu coalition will be released first in the Palpur East range, while the Prabhash-Pavak coalition will be released in a different area. They also noted that releasing only male cheetahs could lead to conflicts due to overcrowding near the fenced enclosures as they search for mates. Therefore, it is necessary to release females as well. The officials said the Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which will be the second home of cheetahs in India, is ready to welcome a new batch of spotted felines. Twenty cheetahs have so far been brought to the Kuno National Park -- eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023. Since their arrival in India, eight adult cheetahs -- three females and five males -- have died. Seventeen cubs have been born in India, with 12 surviving, bringing the total number of cheetahs, including cubs, in Kuno to 24. Currently, all are in enclosures that are only 0.5 to 1.5 square km in size. For context, cheetahs need much larger areas in the wild, usually more than 50 square kilometre, depending on prey availability. The cheetahs were initially released into the wild but were brought back to their enclosures by August last year after the deaths of three animals -- a female named Tbilisi (from Namibia) and two South African males, Tejas and Sooraj -- due to septicemia, an infection that occurs when bacteria enter the bloodstream and spread.