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Namibian Cheetah Sasha Dies In Kuno National Park

Sasha, one of the 8 cheetahs translocated from Namibia in September last year and released in Kuno national park , died on March 27. After almost two months’ of illness, the five year old female cheetah died in the morning.  Addditional chief secretary forest department JS Kansotia confirmed this.  Sasha was diagnosed with hepatorenal, a kidney and liver-related infection, in the last week of January, four months after she was brought to Kuno in September 2022.  Sasha was  brought up in captivity in Namibia after she was picked up in malnourished  condition in a farm field there . Knowing her health conditions, Indian officials had even objected to her translocation as they apprehended that she might not last in the wild. Renal Complications  On January 23 , the female cheetah  had showed signs of fatigue and weakness, after which she was tranquilised and shifted to the quarantine enclosure for treatment. “Two days after medicines had been injected intravenously, the cheetah was showin
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As You Watch The Elephant Whisperer, Let's Learn The Plight Of The Pachyderm

  The ElephantWhisperer - the Oscar winning  short documentary - may have  touched the hearts of millions as it narrated the story of the two calves and the animal loving couple, a large number of elephant calves are actually not lucky enough to  get such affection and compassion. As the great elephant migration continues   from east to west across India,  the real-life plight of the pachyderm is different from the reel- life love, often portrayed in the movies. L et's pause and  understand  why ,a midst squeezing habitat, food and fodder shortage, the elephant in India is more endangered than the highly protected tiger. These gentle giants need more space and food as compared to the big cat. 100 Elephants Die Every Year  The ever increasing quest for land by a growing human population throughout the Indian elephant’s habitat is leaving  a very little room for the “ intelligent beast” . The situation is further aggravated by Illegal encroachment into protected areas and clearing of
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More Questions On Cheetah Project in Kuno

Atlast the process of releasing cheetahs in the  open forest of Kuno national park began albeit with some delay. And this has happened at a time when some fresh controversies are surrounding the already controvertial cheetah project. After two cheetahs – one each  male and a female- were released, more  cheetahs will be  out in the open forest of Kuno  ,  the  site selection   of which has been questioned by  none other than  a key Indian wildlife scientist, who was also the lead author of Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India . YV Jhala , whose  tenure as the dean of the prestigious Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was recently cut short  abruptly , has also made several  revelations  related to the project . Soon the managers of the cheetah project are all set to face a situation when the cheetahs cross over the 748 sq km area of the park to venture out in the neighbouring villages and fields, an eventuality officials would want to avoid  but can't.  Government Needs
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Cheetahs in Kuno: Deep Divide Over the Project

  As more and more African cheetahs are brought to Kuno national park in an attempt to introduce them in India, the International community of   cheetah conservationists and scientists are deeply divided over the controversial conservation project in the jungle- originally earmarked as a second home to Asiatic lions. Conservationists and scientists  for and against the project have been  expressing their opinion in an international journal - Nature ecology & evolution .  About five months after  a group of eminent scientists and  experts  criticized the project , those in favour of it including a group from  Namibia and South Africa “respectfully disagreed” .  But the critics have reacted sharply over the “scientific evidence” produced in support of the ongoing cheetah project. "Restoring Species Essential " About six months ago a team of international scientists and biologists questioned the “incomplete”   Cheetah Action Plan with an unscientific   approach relying on
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How would Cheetahs in Kuno Meet and Mate ?

Female cheetah and cubs.Even this picture  released by India's Press Information Bureaue says something. Eversince cheetah introduction in Kuno national park , officials are  dreaming for this day. But a section of these officials  also believe that  these cats continue to live under stress  and there is an uncertainty over breeding. They need to meet and mate. But how ? Will they be able to do so  as they are going to follow another  months of  stress when they are released in open. Now that the Namibian cheetahs are ready  for release in the open forest from the closed confines of the  present 5 square km fenced housing, many in the cheetah monitoring team are concerned over the future of their reproduction- an important land mark in cheetah conservation and the ultimate aim of the introduction of the foreign species of the cat in India. From Namibia to India , to small  enclosure  in Kuno to the five sq km boma, they will  again be under stress  when released in the open jungle
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Teeming With Tigers, India Needs To Manage Their Population

India is facing a serious 'problem of plenty'. Rising tiger population in many parts of the country is creating conflict zones. And the tiger- human clashes are going up, alarmingly in many landscapes. The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) needs to take initiatives to control the situation. Fifty years after the project tiger as India moves on from dwindling tiger population to surplus numbers of the big cats,  the nation needs an active tiger population management plan. As MoEFC&C yet to  become proactive, a team of  tiger catchers continue to carry out search operations for the past over five months to  capture a tigress with four cubs. Thge team members are  scanning Tadoba Andhari Tiger Landscape in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, grappling with the issue of over population of 200 tigers. As many as 53 people lost their lives in Chandrapur in 2022 in tiger attacks while 14 tigers have also died from January 2022 to January this year. This
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Tiger Poaching In Panna National Park

 Sorry again to begin the New Year on a negative note. In less than a month’s time, when wildlife lovers have not forgotten the gruesome incident of a tiger poaching and the images of the  tiger carcass hanging from a tendu tree, another tiger was killed. The December 7 tiger poaching had happened 20 kms away from the park this time  the tiger poaching has taken place right inside Panna national park . The  tiger was electrocuted in Kishenganj range of buffer zone of the tiger reserve. Casual Appoach of Park Management    The latest case of tiger poaching was reported on the intervening night of January 3 and 4. In fact a hyena was also electrocuted. It was a well built beautiful tiger that lost life right inside the park where poachers used the supply line passing from the park to kill the animal.  But more depressing was a statement of the park director, Brajendra Jha who said this was part of the birth of tigers and their death.  More tigers have been born in Panna tiger reserve tha
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No This Tiger Did Not Commit Suicide, Body Found Hanging Near Panna Tiger Reserve

  It is always disheartening to carry a picture of a dead tiger . This young  tiger was killed by poachers near Panna tiger reserve .  About four days after the death, body of this male tiger was found hanging from a tree from a clutch wire- used in motor bikes. The picture gives an impression as if the tiger committed suicide. This is the second such incident in the region. Around four years ago,  the body of a tiger was found hanging from a tree in the core area of the tiger reserve.  Poachers Are Active  On the cold December morning on Wednesday, the  forest  department officials in Panna and Chattarpur   received a message of  the tiger's death. As the investigations started by afternoon on December 7, officials of the Special Task Force, the Tiger Strike Force and  local police arrived at the scene. Sniffer dogs were deployed . We will update the story  whenever some development take place. The crime scene is located in a village Vikrampur ,8 kms away from Panna city and abou
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Ultimate Test When Cheetahs Face Leopards in Kuno National Park

 Cheetahs in Kuno National Park are going to be released in the 748 sq km open forest of the park sometime early in the new year. To begin with  the two males- Fredie and Elton -may be released in the first phase followed by others .And as this date approaches, members of the team of international experts monitoring these cheetahs are apprehensive spending anxious moments. So far, Kuno cheetahs are immune from leopards. For the first time, these imported spotted cats will have a faceoff with the local leopards, the top predator of Kuno and also the carnivores like hyenas .You may be knowing that cheetahs brought from Namibia on September 17   have been living in protective 5 sq km enclosures in Kuno with plenty of prey-  like spotted deer - and  trained people to take care of their well being- mainly health -and the  issues related with  their adaptation. Cheetah is Smaller Than Leopard  In Africa, the home to most of the cheetahs in the world, leopards are known to attack the fastest
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