Cheetah Reintroduction in India

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African cheetahs at Kuno National Park kill cheetal, make history

After 51 days in India, including two days in a special prey-stocked enclosure where they were released inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two [color=var(--linkcolor)]cheetahs from Africa [/color]made history by making their first kill during the intervening night of November 6-7.

The two male cheetahs, ‘Freddy’ and ‘Elton’, had been released from quarantine on the evening of November 5 into the bigger enclosure that is stocked with natural prey base. They brought down a cheetal stag (spotted deer). The milestone is significant in the process of introduction of cheetahs at Kuno because it indicates that the wild cats are willing to adapt to their new home. The event is also interesting because the translocated African cheetahs had, till now, never seen a cheetal—the deer is neither found in Namibia, from where the cheetahs were brought to India, nor the entire African continent. 

The enclosure where the cheetahs have been released have cheetal, blue bull, four-horned antelope, wild boar and Indian gazelle as prey base. The prey base can be widened if required. 

Describing the kill, J.S. Chauhan, chief wildlife warden, Madhya Pradesh, said: “Soon after they were released [into their new enclosure] on November 5, the cheetahs made an attempt to hunt down a cheetal. That failed, but they successfully killed another cheetal during the intervening night of November 6-7. This marks a significant step in the cheetah reintroduction process in India.“ 

[color=var(--linkcolor)]Eight African cheetahs—five females and three males—were translocated from Namibia and released by PM Narendra Modi at the Kuno National Park on September 17. As per the protocol worked out by experts, the cheetahs were first placed in a quarantine enclosure for a month-long observation. They were being fed buffalo meat.[/color]

However, owing to certain issues, the experts had not allowed the release of the cheetahs from quarantine to the prey-stocked enclosure after a month. Eventually, clearance came, beginning with the release of Freddy and Elton on November 5. An attempt had also been made for the release of a third male cheetah, but a minor malfunction with the capture equipment has delayed this process by a few weeks.

The five females would be released into the prey-stocked enclosure only after a female leopard, which is still inside the enclosure, has been captured and relocated. This is to avoid a confrontation between cheetahs and leopards as this will endanger the African imports. 

Experts involved in the introduction process have maintained that making their first kill would be a critical step for the cheetahs. For one, the cheetahs would be seeing prey animals they have never spotted in Africa. Secondly, some of the translocated cheetahs are not from a totally wild background. Hence, making a kill may not come naturally to them at first. But experts believe the cheetahs would eventually hunt successfully as their natural instincts would take over.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/african-cheetahs-at-kuno-national-park-kill-cheetal-make-history-2294268-2022-11-07 Reply