MP: 250 chital deer herded for cheetahs

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
Delhi,
Aug
09:
The
Forest
department
has
herded
250
chital
or
spotted
deer
as
the
prey
into
the
enclosure
meant
for
cheetahs
being
brought
to
Madhya
Pradesh’s
Kuno-Palpur
National
Park
(KNP)
from
Africa
shortly,
a
senior
official
said
on
Monday.

In
a
related
development,
India
is
close
to
signing
agreements
with
the
government
of
South
Africa
and
private
players
there
to
buy
some
cheetahs
costing
around
USD
3,000
to
4,000
from
some
game
reserves
in
SA,
according
to
officials.

6
‘stressed’
leopards
enter
cheetahs’
enclosure
in
MP
Kuno
Park

India
had
last
month
signed
an
MoU
with
the
Namibian
government
for
procuring
the
cheetahs
in
the
KNP
under
the
ambitious
reintroduction
project,
a
PTI
report
said.

“We
have
put
more
than
250
chitals
(spotted
deer
or
axis
deer)
in
the
‘soft
release
enclosure’
meant
to
acclimatise
the
cheetahs
at
the
KNP,”
MP
Principal
Chief
Conservator
of
Forests
(Wildlife)
J
S
Chauhan
told
PTI.

The
chital
deer
have
been
brought
from
the
Pench
Tiger
Reserve
and
the
Wildlife
Sanctuary
of
Narsinghgarh
in
MP,
he
said.

He
said
500
more
chital
deer
will
be
placed
in
the
enclosure
for
the
cheetah
to
prey
on.
Preparations
are
on
to
provide
a
good
environment
to
the
cheetahs
given
the
fact
that
these
mammals
are
coming
to
India
from
far
off
Africa
and
would
be
stressed
and
fatigued
after
such
a
long
journey.

“The
cheetahs
will
be
kept
in
the
acclimatisation
‘soft
release
enclosure’
spread
over
5
sq
km
for
two
to
three
months
before
being
released
into
the
wild,” Chauhan
said.

Another
official
said
India
is
close
to
signing
agreements
with
the
government
of
South
Africa
(SA)
and
private
game
reserves
in
that
country
for
procuring
more
cheetahs.

“We
are
also
going
to
buy
some
cheetahs
costing
around
USD
3,000
to
4,000
from
private
game
reserves
in
SA,”
he
said.

The
official
said
most
of
the
cheetahs
are
being
donated
for
the
KNP
project.

“We
have
already
signed
a
Memorandum
of
Understanding
(MoU)
with
the
Namibian
government
for
the
import
of
cheetahs.
In
Namibia,
the
wildlife
is
under
the
direct
control
of
the
government
like
in
India.

In
SA,
the
government
and
private
players
control
the
wildlife.
Efforts
are
underway
to
ink
agreements
with
private
game
reserves
in
SA
and
the
government
of
that
country
for
procuring
more
cheetahs,”
he
said.
Wildlife
Institute
of
India
(WII)
Dean
Yadvendradev
Vikramsinh
Jhala
reached
Johannesburg
on
Saturday
in
connection
with
the
KNP
cheetah
reintroduction
project.

When
asked
about
his
return
schedule,
he
told
PTI
that
his
“return
ticket
has
not
been
booked
yet”.
Queried
about
when
the
cheetahs
will
reach
India,
Jhala
said
he
didn’t
know.

“The
government
will
take
a
call
on
it,”
he
added
amid
speculation
that
the
cheetahs
may
reach
India
by
August
13.

Twelve
cheetahs,
including
four
to
five
females,
have
been
vaccinated
and
quarantined
for
a
month
as
part
of
preparations
to
airlift
them
to
India,
officials
had
said.

The
KNP
is
spread
over
750
square
kilometres
in
MP’s
Chambal
region.

Cheetahs
went
extinct
in
India
in
1952
and
the
reintroduction
project
is
now
in
its
final
stages
with
a
few
big
cats
set
to
be
housed
in
KNP
after
being
brought
in
from
the
southern
parts
of
Africa.

The
last
cheetah
in
India
died
in
1947
in
the
Korea
district
in
present-day
Chhattisgarh,
which
was
part
of
MP
then,
and
the
species
was
declared
extinct
in
1952.

The
‘African
Cheetah
Introduction
Project
in
India’ was
conceived
in
2009
and
a
plan
to
introduce
the
big
cat
by
November
last
year
in
KNP
suffered
a
setback
due
to
the
COVID-19
pandemic.

“The
KNP
has
a
good
prey
base
for
cheetahs.
Experts
from
the
Wildlife
Institute
of
India
(WII)
are
also
okay
with
the
choice
of
the
area.
MP
was
home
to
cheetahs
earlier.
Moreover,
it
has
a
good
translocation
record
as
tigers
were
successfully
reintroduced
in
Panna
in
2009,”
officials
added.