Ahead of the first anniversary of the controvertial cheetah project and the release of African cheetahs in Kuno national park , interesting observations have been shared by the director of the park where 14 cheetahs await re-release in the wild. They were caught and brought back to bomas following 6 cheetah deaths after septicemia caused by abrasion from satellite collars. Uttam Kumar Sharma , the park director has dwelt in detail on cheetah movements and their exploration of the landscape , their interaction with each other and the efforts made by the park management to monitor the animals round the clock as he tried to hammer home a point- African cheetahs are adapting fast in India. Asha: The Hope Based upon his observations, Sharma has released newsletters revolving around two cheetah coalitions -Gaurav-Shaurya (Rockstars) and Agni-Vayu (White walkers), Asha, the female cheetah from Namibia and Jwala and her Indian born cubs. The story of the two coali
A midst the cacophony of save tiger campaigns- many of them starts and ends after brief photo sessions on Global Tiger Day -it appears much spoken but little is done to save the stripes. Rather, the laws are being simplified and the governments- both at the centre as well as in the states- look at the other way as the sanctity of green spaces is violated. If people are so much concerned over saving the tiger - the top predator at the apex of the food chainand an umbrella species whose conservation indirectly protects other wildlife and in turn the whole forest and environment- we should better start practicing what we preach. This is actually necessary for our policy makers. And in this case, the sooner is going to be better. Or else, we may have to regret later. Shrinking Forests, Clogged Corridors Despite all the education and advocacy in wildlife conservation, the habitat of the big cat continues to decline. Less than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild, down from 100,000 a h