‘Breeding at focus in Project Cheetah’s second year’

New Delhi: India plans to import cheetahs that do not develop thicker winter coats — a primary factor behind severe infections in some cheetahs and the death of three of them, according to the head of the reintroduction project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Project Cheetah in India last year by releasing a group of big cats brought from Namibia into an enclosure at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on September 17.

Project Cheetah marks its one-year anniversary on Sunday. In an interview, SP Yadav, Additional Director General of Forests at the Environment Ministry, emphasised that the project’s focus in its second year would be on breeding these animals.

He asserted that the radio collars cheetahs were made to wear did not cause any infections. However, authorities have decided to replace these collars with new ones from the same South African manufacturer.

Yadav, also the chief of National Tiger Conservation Authority, said the next batch of cheetahs will be imported from South Africa and introduced into Madhya Pradesh’s Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which will be ready to welcome the spotted felines by the end of the year.

“It’s mentioned in the Cheetah Action Plan that Kuno has a carrying capacity of about 20 cheetahs. Right now, there are 15 cheetahs including a cub, and when we will bring the next batch of cheetahs in the country, it will be at some other place. We are preparing two such sites in Madhya Pradesh, one is the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, and the other is Nauradehi.

“The site preparation at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary is going on in full swing, I’m expecting that it will be completed by the end of November or December. Once we get the report of completion, we’ll go to the site, we’ll evaluate it from all preparation points of view. And after December, we’ll take a call on bringing cheetahs,” he said.

Some experts have also recommended transferring cheetahs to Mukundra Hills in Rajasthan, saying it’s appropriate for the cats.

Yadav said: “Mukundra is a tiger reserve. You will be surprised to know that even tiger introduction in that area has not succeeded. Two adult tigers and cubs have already died (there) because of heavy parasitic load and heavy tick infection in that area. There are a number of issues in Mukundra. I don’t think right now Mukundra is prepared to receive or to successfully harbour cheetahs.”