After Kuno park trial, Centre mulls larger habitat for endangered cheetahs
As the Project Cheetah completed two years on Tuesday, the Centre has sped up efforts to bring a new batch of big cats from Kenya to Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. This will be the second sanctuary dedicated to the endangered cheetahs.
The government is also planning to establish a larger cheetah habitat, spanning the territorial divisions of Neemuch (about 1,000 sq km) and Mandsaur (500 sq km) in Madhya Pradesh, along with the Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (208 sq km) and Chittorgarh (around 1,000 sq km) in Rajasthan. The government will also set up a breeding centre at the Banni Grasslands Reserve in Gujarat.
“Meticulous preparations are underway for creating a second sanctuary for the iconic big cats. Enclosures are being constructed to ensure a suitable and secure habitat for the cheetahs upon their arrival. Additionally, a comprehensive status assessment of herbivores and predators within the sanctuary is underway to gauge the existing ecological dynamics,” an official of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said.
Recently, members of the Cheetah Steering Committee have conducted a review of the sanctuary. The government is also planning to develop Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Desert National Park in Rajasthan as potential landscapes for cheetahs.
Presently, 24 cheetahs, which include two Indian-born cubs and 12 adults, are in Kuno National Park. Recently, the NTCA had also approved a proposal to create a four-part web series on Project Cheetah.
However, the project received backlash after an audit report of the Madhya Pradesh Government said Kuno National Park was originally identified as a second habitat for Asiatic lions and there was no mention of reintroduction of cheetahs in the national park’s management plan. The report said as of November 2023, no efforts had been made to reintroduce Asiatic lions.
The report revealed 43 of 255 sanctioned posts remained vacant. The shortage could affect the protection and management of both forests and wildlife at Kuno National Park. The report was given to the wildlife activist Ajay Dubey in an RTI response.
