Cheetah Reintroduction in India

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At Banni, Special Mating Zones For Choosy Cheetahs

The Gujarat forest department has begun laying the ground on a war footing for India's first cheetah conservation breeding centre coming up in Banni Grasslands Reserve, a protected forest in the southern end of the state's Kutch district. 

Spread over 500 hectares, this will be India's first facility for big cats where special open-to-air isolation enclosures are being built to create an environment conducive to the cheetah's natural courtship and mating behaviour.

The isolation chambers at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, also home to cheetahs in India, are quarantine facilities for the big cats arriving from Africa, and not mating areas, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) officials said.

To achieve a higher success rate, separating males from the females is important, say conservationists. A senior forest officer said cheetah breeding for conservation involves detailed study and extreme precaution as these animals display peculiar behaviour in choosing their mates. "And since the Banni facility is a conservation breeding centre, we need to go the extra mile to see success."

Banni reserve goes the extra mile on cheetah breeding

Sandeep Kumar, chief conservator of forests, who is the project in charge, said, “After a detailed study of cheetah behaviour, the forest department is readying three enclosures, all open to air and each spread over 120sq m. One will house males, the second will have females while in the third, a pair that has come close to each other, will be isolated for natural breeding.”

Although fenced, these enclosures will be interconnected to facilitate free cheetah movement.

A team will closely monitor the separate enclosures to identify pairs getting attracted and facilitate their isolation with minimal or zero intervention. Under the Rs 20.5 crore Union govt project overseen by NTCA, Gujarat has received Rs 3 crore from the Rs 6.5 crore disbursed so far. Principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden, Nityanand Srivastava said, “The funds have started arriving and work has begun. We hope to bring cheetahs to Gujarat early next year.” 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/indias-first-cheetah-conservation-breeding-centre-in-banni-grasslands-reserve/amp_articleshow/108151053.cms  Reply