5 More Cheetahs to be Released in Kuno National Park Before Monsoons

New Delhi: Five more cheetahs including three females and two males will be released from the acclimatization camps into conditions in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) before the onset of the monsoon in June. Stating this the Union Environment Ministry said on Monday that animals are generally not released into the wild during the monsoon season as during this period they find it hard to adapt to their new environment.

The ministry also said the cheetahs released will not necessarily be “recaptured unless they venture into areas where they are in significant danger”.

So far, four of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia have been released from the fenced acclimatization camps into the open jungles of the KNP. “Five more cheetahs (three females and two males) will be released from the acclimatization camps into free-roaming conditions in KNP before the onset of the monsoon rains in June,” the ministry said in a statement.

The decision was taken after a team of experts reviewed the current status of “Project Cheetah” on the directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The rest of the cheetahs will remain in the acclimatization camps during monsoon season.

According to the cheetah reintroduction plan, Kuno holds the potential to sustain up to 21 cheetahs based on its existing prey base. With restoration, protection and management, the number can go up to 40 individuals.

Under the ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first batch of eight Cheetahs from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno in Madhya Pradesh on September 17, 2022.  A dozen cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released into Kuno on February 18.

One of the Namibian cheetahs, Sasha, died due to a kidney-related ailment in March. Another cheetah, Uday, from South Africa died on April 13.