Cheetah Reintroduction in India

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BHOPAL: Five cheetahs will soon be released from their protected enclosures and into the wild in Kuno National Park even as preparations are on to translocate 12 cheetahs from South Africa to Kuno.

Once they are released beyond the fenced off area, it will be the first time since the species went extinct in India in 1952 that cheetahs will be prowling free and wild in the country.


A wildlife team managing cheetahs is set to move three males and two females in the wild, say sources. "Three females will remain inside (enclosures). A review meeting will be held soon and a decision will be taken for their release," said J S Chouhan, the state's chief wildlife warden.

The male cheetahs released into Kuno are expected to establish a coalition territory after exploring and investigating the habitat. If any animal tends to get into an undesirable environment, it would be brought back, say sources.

Since their arrival in India on September 17, the three male and five female cheetahs have been held exclusively in fenced-off areas. First, they spent 30 days in quarantine enclosures where they were fed. Then, they were shifted to 'hunting bomas', where the team observed each of them getting used to Indian prey and becoming proficient hunters.


Now, the cheetahs face a wild landscape that is home to other predators that are their competitors. Some of these predators could even be a treat to the cheetahs, as is the rule of the wild.

In Africa, cheetahs encounter hyenas, leopards and lions in the wild, but never tigers. In Kuno, they may encounter tigers.



Team to monitor cheetahs closely & support them 


Now, the cheetahs face a wild landscape that is home to other predators that are their competitors. Some of these predators could even be a treat to the cheetahs, as is the rule of the wild. In Africa, cheetahs encounter hyenas, leopards and lions in the wild, but never tigers. In Kuno, they may encounter tigers. According to the Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India (2021), with prey restoration, the reintroduction of lions as well as colonization by tigers in Kuno National Parkare are both possibilities. If a cheetah would encounter a tiger passing through Kuno, how would the species react? At this point, no one really knows, but the researchers involved in monitoring the cheetahs aim to find out.



The team will closely monitor cheetahs to support them and gather information about their behaviour in the wild. Each cheetah has been fitted with a satellite-GPS-VHF radio-collar that enables the Project Cheetah team to identify individuals and track movements. The Action Plan recommends the cheetah population in Kuno be intensively managed this way for at least 10 years.


According to the Action Plan, these methods are part of a "soft-release" technique that has been successfully used in reintroduction of northern Rocky Mountain grey wolf, red wolf, Mexican wolves, swift fox, African cheetahs and African lions. In India, such a method has also been successfully used for tiger reintroduction in Sariska and Panna Tiger Reserves. 



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