African Cheetahs all set to relocate to India’s Kuno National Park, but may miss Aug 15 date
African Cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa have been quarantined and vaccinated ahead of their travel across continents to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park later this month, but will likely miss the Independence Day deadline. Around eight Cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa have been identified for the first batch of Cheetahs that authorities are hoping to locate in Kuno in the coming months.
Senior officials of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Wednesday confirmed that the memorandum of understanding with South Africa has been finalised and will be signed by representatives of the two countries in the next few days. “MoU with South Africa is in its final stage so it will be signed very soon. Discussions of a chartered flight that will carry the Cheetahs to India are underway with Namibia,” said a senior environment ministry official who asked not to be named.
Another official clarified that it was unlikely that the Cheetahs will arrive in India ahead of Independence Day. “We are trying our best to bring them this month. But most likely, the translocation will happen after Independence Day,” a second environment ministry official said, asking not to be named. The Cheetahs will be brought either to Jaipur or Gwalior airport by a chartered flight from Namibia. They will then be transported to Kuno by helicopter, the official said.
India and Namibia signed an MoU for Cheetah relocation on July 20 in which the countries stated that the purpose of the partnership is to facilitate further cooperation in biodiversity conservation and sustainable wildlife management. The agreement will remain in force for an initial period of five years. Thereafter, it will be renewed for successive five-year periods, unless either party terminates the agreement.
Cheetahs used to thrive across the central Indian landscape but disappeared in the late 1940s due to large scale hunting for sport and habitat loss.
The Cheetahs that are arriving are not Asiatic Cheetahs so essentially India will be introducing a genetic sub-species and not the Asiatic Cheetahs that went extinct in India, experts have said. Some experts have also raised concerns that Kuno was selected for lions but the government now plans for dispersal of lions within Gujarat.
ONCE THEY ARRIVE IN KUNO, THE CHEETAHS WILL BE KEPT UNDER QUARANTINE AND OBSERVATION FOR 30 DAYS BEFORE BEING RELEASED, OFFICIALS SAID
African Cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa have been quarantined and vaccinated ahead of their travel across continents to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park later this month, but will likely miss the Independence Day deadline. Around eight Cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa have been identified for the first batch of Cheetahs that authorities are hoping to locate in Kuno in the coming months.
Senior officials of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Wednesday confirmed that the memorandum of understanding with South Africa has been finalised and will be signed by representatives of the two countries in the next few days. “MoU with South Africa is in its final stage so it will be signed very soon. Discussions of a chartered flight that will carry the Cheetahs to India are underway with Namibia,” said a senior environment ministry official who asked not to be named.
Another official clarified that it was unlikely that the Cheetahs will arrive in India ahead of Independence Day. “We are trying our best to bring them this month. But most likely, the translocation will happen after Independence Day,” a second environment ministry official said, asking not to be named. The Cheetahs will be brought either to Jaipur or Gwalior airport by a chartered flight from Namibia. They will then be transported to Kuno by helicopter, the official said. “Chartered flights are expensive so at the moment the plan is to get Cheetahs from South Africa and Namibia together. For now, it looks like we will get 20 Cheetahs as part of the first translocation effort this month,” he added.
The Cheetahs will not be tranquilised on the flight. “We are following the International Air Transport Association guidelines which says animals should be alert. They can only be mildly sedated if they are agitated or disturbed. Otherwise, there is no need for it. There will be one vet each from Namibia and South Africa, and one animal handler from South Africa and few officials from our side on the flight,” said the second official. Two officials from Namibia have already arrived in Kuno to monitor the entire translocation process. “They are the experts so obviously its important that they are here in advance.”
Once they arrive in Kuno, the Cheetahs will be kept under quarantine and observation for 30 days before they are released, officials said.
“Cheetahs are extremely adaptable and occur in very varied habitats. We do not anticipate any problems in Cheetahs adapting to Kuno,” said YV Jhala, dean, Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
India and Namibia signed an MoU for Cheetah relocation on July 20 in which the countries stated that the purpose of the partnership is to facilitate further cooperation in biodiversity conservation and sustainable wildlife management. The agreement will remain in force for an initial period of five years. Thereafter, it will be renewed for successive fiveyear periods, unless either party terminates the agreement. Cheetahs used to thrive across the central Indian landscape but disappeared in the late 1940s due to large scale hunting for sport and habitat loss. The Cheetahs that are arriving are not Asiatic Cheetahs so essentially India will be introducing a genetic sub-species and not the Asiatic Cheetahs that went extinct in India, experts have said. Some experts have also raised concerns that Kuno was selected for lions but the government now plans for dispersal of lions within Gujarat.
“The Supreme Court-ordered translocation of Asiatic lions to Kuno is very likely to be further delayed as the introduction of African cheetahs in Kuno is imminent. This continued delay to translocate lions while fast-tracking the introduction of African Cheetahs is an absolute travesty and a betrayal of the sacrifices made by hundreds of families of Sahariyas who relocated to make space for the lions. The reply of the minister of state for forest, environment and climate change to a question in the Lok Sabha on the government’s efforts to translocate lions to different parts of India only mentions potential sites in Gujarat and facilitation of natural dispersal of lions. There is no mention of the 2013 order of the Supreme Court which ordered translocation of lions within six months to Kuno,” said Ravi Chellam, CEO, Metastring Foundation and coordinator of the Biodiversity Collaborative.