When Aasha gave birth to three cubs in one of the enclosures of Kuno national park - there was good news and bad news. The good news is that this is the second litter of cheetah on Indian soil after Siyaya, another Namibia cheetah, gave birth to four cubs in March 2023 and that the animal seems to have acclimatized further in India conditions. Birth in captivity will also enhance their chances of survival. The three newborns from Aasha have also increased the number of cheetahs in India. The bad news is that like Siyaya's cubs, they too are born within the confines of a boma and would not get the environmental conditions required to survive in the wild. They would also be reared up by Aasha in the enclosure -safe from predators like leopards. But what does this mean? Kuno Awaits Cheetah Birth in Open Forest Cheetahs were translocated to India with a purpose. The Cheetah action plan envisages saving, conserving and developing India's grasslands .The reason for choosing cheet
Translocation of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) to Kuno Palpur national park in Madhya Pradesh has been delayed. Though the government has been highlighting covid19 spread in Africa as the prime reason, India has yet to receive the permission of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna), an international agreement between governments to preserve plants and animals of the planet to ensure that the international trade in their specimens does not threaten their survival. India’s application to bring this spotted at is yet to be cleared by this international organisation.
India 's Application With CITES Pending
Cheetah was scheduled to have been transported from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno in November this year. In all 8 cheetahs were scheduled to be translocated from the two places. But India applied “quite late” for the relocation of cheetah leading to delay in the processing of the application. Now this fastest animal on four legs on the planet may take a few more months to reach Kuno, a beautiful national park nestled in Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh. Sources in the Union ministry of Environment and Forest claim that cheetahs may now be brought to India sometime in February or may be later.
“In fact, the date is yet to be decided”, they said. There are more issues linked with the delay in cheetah's flight to India A high powered India delegation was also scheduled to fly to South Africa where the worst ever riots took place in July. As Indians were also targeted in the violence, the Indian contingent scheduled to travel South Africa had to postpone the visit. Union minister for environment and forest would have headed the group comprising officials of Wildlife Institute of India and those from Madhya Pradesh forest department. There was another reason. Worst ever floods in Sheopur district where Kuno Palpur national park is located, also affected the jungle and the roads around. This has caused delay in the construction of the 500 hectares of the enclosure for the cheetah. As the roads were damaged and bridges were washed away, material required for the construction of the enclosure could not reach Kuno. “There is almost two months delay in this work”, sources in Bhopal claimed.
Delay in Lion Project Paves Way for Cheetah
After preparing Kuno for the translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir national park, the centre decided to bring cheetahs to this national park. Gujarat’s insistence of not allowing a pair of lions to Madhya Pradesh was also considered as one of the reasons why Kuno was cleared for cheetah.It is believed that Gujarat, which considers lions as its pride, would have lost lion-tourism .
After kuno, this spotted cat might be relocated to some more places in India. A massive vaccination drive for the dogs around the national park was also started. Campaign to create awareness among the villages around the park was also launched. Cheetahs worldwide face a variety of pressures to their existence in the wild, including habitat loss, hunting of their prey base for bush-meat, illegal international trade and conflict with livestock owners. Bushmeat is a phrase for the meat of wild animals, but it most often refers to the remains of animals killed in the forests and savannas of Africa. Globally, this species is considered vulnerable in the IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species, with a declining extant population of less than 7,000 individuals found primarily in the savannahs of Africa. While southern Africa is the cheetah’s regional stronghold, it is considered Critically Endangered in North and West Africa, according to CITES. A small and remnant Asiatic population exists also in Iran, where it is assessed as critically endangered. Cheetah is also the least dangerous big cat.
Cover pic: BBC
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