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Showing posts from April, 2023

3 Years In: Unveiling the Truth About India's Cheetah Project

Three years on, India’s cheetah reintroduction struggles with poor science, delays, and missed grassland goals. In September 2022, the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park was hailed as a conservation milestone. Five months later in February 2024, 12 more spotted cats arrived from South Africa. The initiative, branded Project Cheetah, carried lofty ambitions. It aimed not just to restore the world’s fastest land animal to India’s landscapes, but to revive open natural ecosystems (ONEs) — the grasslands, scrublands, and savannahs that are among the country’s most neglected habitats. By reintroducing a top predator, policymakers hoped to spark wider conservation attention, diversify India’s wildlife portfolio beyond tigers and forests, and make ecological amends for a human-caused extinction. The Cheetah Action Plan set out a clear roadmap: import 5–10 cheetahs annually for a decade, create a metapopulation across multiple states, secure and restore grassland hab...
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11 Cheetahs To Be Released In 2 Months, South Africa Announces Midst Minister's Questioning

  Amidst controversy created by the death of cheetahs  both in India and South Africa, the  forestry and environment ministry of  the African  nation said the 11   remaining cheetahs  will be released in the free ranging conditions “over the next two months.” Interestingly,  there is no commitment on cheetah release from Indian officials. Two cheetahs died in Kuno national park – one each from South Africa and Namibia. After the death of Uday, the South African cheetah,  the main opposition party  has also questioned  the minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, on the export of 12 cheetahs to India. Two MPs from the  the opposition Democratic Alliance Hannah Shameema Winckler and Dave Bryant have sought explanation from the minister and   accountability for the cheetah death. This has happened two months after lawyers of  an animals' rights organisation in South Africa petitioned...
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Stressed & Unhappy After Long Captivity , Kuno Cheetahs Need To Be Released In The Wild

  Death of another cheetah in Kuno national park seems to have opened Pandora’s Box.  This is the second death of a cheetah. Interestingly, both the cats died even before they could be released in the open forest.  Besides, outings of Oban now rechristened as Pawan have already baffled the cheetah managers. Amidst all this, Madhya Pradesh government has started pressing for the second home for cheetahs- there are 14 cheetahs in enclosures of Kuno , all of them  have been in captivity for long and are waiting for release in the open forest. Will they get a new home - some other national park- or they too will have to share  the space in the small 748 sq km forest of Kuno.  " Cheetahs Unhappy In  Enclosures"   In the first lot of Cheetahs that were brought from Namibia , there were 8 cats. Four were released in the open forest, one of them , Oban or Pawan, was brought back after it continued to  move out.  One female, Sasha, died on March...
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Another Cheetah Dies in Kuno ,Will Post Mortem Report be Made Public

  A team of veterinarians  conducted a post mortem of  Uday, the  six year old cheetah who died at Kuno national park on Sunday. The male feline was translocated from South Africa in February this year.  Twenty -four hours before his death, the cheetah was hale and hearty. Earlier on March 27, Sasha, one of the eight Namibian cheetahs, died of a kidney ailment at the park on March 27. Cause of Death Unknown The  latest incident is seen as a major setback for the  much hyped and ambitious 'Project Cheetah' for which 20 cats, 8 from Namibia  and 12 from South Africa were  airlifted in  two separate batches in September 2022 and February this year. respectively. After the death of  Uday,  the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife, J S Chauhan  said, "During the inspection in the morning ( on Sunday) , a cheetah (Uday) brought from South Africa was found dull with  his head  dropped down. He said that...
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Tiger In Chain, Arunachal Forest Minister Goes For Walk

 Close on the heels of the tiger census data released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcasing the success of  tiger conservation , visuals of a tiger in a chain held by the Environment and forest minister of Arunachal Pradesh  shook the country.  The minister Mama Natung   walks the tiger  like a pet  .On April 16, he  also  twitted the  video  from his official twitter handle . He also posted the video with pride on his  facebook page. For record, tiger is listed in the scheduled one of the Wild Life (Protecton) Act 1972  and one can not have it as a pet .This Schedule deals with endangered species. Violation of Wildlife Protection Act   Interestingly, while tweeting the video , mama also tagged  the National Tiger Conservation Authority ( NTCA ) and  the Union ministry of Environment, forest  and climate change.  NTCA is the apex body for the protection and conservation of the ti...
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50 Years After Project Tiger: New Challenges & the Road Ahead

India may boast a rise in its tiger numbers and is a reason to rejoice, the situation of the tiger habitat from one corner of the country to another is alarming. Though the Tiger Status report 2022 released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi  quoted  the  figure of a minimum number of 3167  tigers ( up from 2976 in 2018 ), it also expressed concern over local extinction of tigers in some regions. There is a decrease in tiger numbers across the WesternGhats and it indeed is a matter of concern. No media has highlighted these issues mentioned in the same report. Tigers are increasing, so is the human population and the pressure on the forests . If the jungle corridors are not protected, we are headed in a direction when the tigers would be confined to small isolated patches of forests.   On Local Extinction Of Tigers & Decreasing Numbers In Western Ghats Dwelling in detail from one tiger landscape to another, the Tiger Status report raised the local tige...
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Adventures of Asha, Oban Put Cheetah Task Force in a Fix

  Gasping for breath after chasing Oban- the cheetah roaming  beyond the boundaries of Kuno national park and tranquilizing to bring him back home - the Indian officials  have realised  that they will have a tough task ahead. With 15 more cheetahs waiting to be released in the open forest and no second home in sight for them yet,   it would be difficult for the officials to manage and monitor this fastest animal on the four legs Adventures of Oban Oban and Asha, a female, were released in the open forest of Kuno on March 11 marking the final defined step  of translocation  from Namibia to India. The duo along with six more were airlifted from Namibia   to India on September 17 last year. For months they were first kept in quarantine and then to a bigger enclosure before releasing them in the open forest. Few days later two more males- Elton and Freddie too were released. Within days, Asha and Oban moved out of the small park which has an...
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Cheetah Escapes From Kuno , Scares Villagers

  International team of  wildlife experts including those from the union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFC&C), government of Madhya Pradesh, Cheetah Conservation Fund  ,Namibia among others have  been spending sleepless nights ever since four cheetahs were  released in the open forest of Kuno. Two cheetahs and male and a female each named Oban and Asha respectively, were released on March 11 followed by Elton and Freddie. No sooner did they step out from their enclosures, the cheetahs  vanished in the jungle. Within  no time, their location throught their satellite radio collars was traced in the  territorial forests  around Kuno . There were no media reports as it was not confirmed by the officials tightlipped over the issue. But on Sunday, video evidence broke the news. "Oban Oban", "Come Oban" , "Go Oban" The video , shot by a villager showed Oban , a male cheetah, trying  timidly to hide himself in  t...
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