Cheetah Reintroduction in India

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Madhya Pradesh: Omicron scare hits cheetah project 

BHOPAL: The worrying new Omicron strain of the Covid virus in South Africa has slammed the brakes on the cheetah translocation project. Principal secretary Ashok Barnwal and chief wildlife warden Alok Kumar were scheduled to fly to the African country on Sunday but have postponed it, said sources. 

The new variant, classified as one of ‘concern’, will further delay implementation of the ambitious wildlife project – the world’s first inter-continental cheetah translocation. 

The Madhya Pradesh government has pulled out all stops to bring cheetahs to Kuno National Park, but the process gets stalled by one reason or the other, including untimely heavy rain that disrupted logistics. 

Recently, a massive vaccination drive for stray dogs was carried out within a 5km radius of Kuno as the translocation was expected this November. The park administration identified 400-odd villages, where vaccination of 1,000 stray, feral and local dogs was carried out so that they don’t pass on any disease alien to the cheetahs’ immunity. 

A three-member panel has been set up to guide the National Tiger Conservation Authority in translocation. This team is yet to be trained. 


https://m.timesofindia.com/city/bhopal/madhya-pradesh-omicron-scare-hits-cheetah-project/articleshow/87970379.cms Reply