NEW DELHI: Even as the eight Namibian cheetahs released into the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 are gradually acclimatising to their new surroundings, state wildlife officials are “concerned” about the danger they might face from the large leopard population once they finally find their way into the wild a few months from now.
Speaking to this newspaper, Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) J S Chauhan said, “We are preparing ourselves for kinds of challenges ahead, including the danger the cheetahs might face from about 98 leopards. That is the concern”. At least 25 leopards were removed from the area the cheetahs will occupy in the first six months and radio-collared for subsequent observation.
Wildlife Institute of India (WII) researchers – nine of them have been continuously observing the cheetahs since they were released into the quarantine zones — are also mindful of potential leopard-cheetah conflicts in the near future. According to the WII, the leopard population density at KNP is nine individuals per 100 sq km.
One WII researcher said that intensified observation of the cheetahs will begin once they are moved to the larger, 5-sq-km enclosure. “In the first four to five days, the cheetahs did exhibit aggression whenever vehicles or people went past their enclosures, but they have begun to adapt even in rainy conditions,” the researcher said.
Chauhan admitted that the cheetahs are “eating less” than usual in the first few days of their arrival at KNP but they will “stabilise soon”. The fastest land animals are being “served dressed buffalo meat twice in four to five days” with each cheetah “consuming an average of 1.5 to 2 kg buffalo meat per day”.
Around the middle of August, the cheetahs will be moved to the 5-sq-km zone with nine compartments. Chauhan said that two pairs of female and male cheetahs will be “put together” in one large enclosure while the rest will be in single enclosures. “Depending on their comfort levels, they will be in these enclosures for two to four months before they are allowed to roam free in the 748 sq km expanse of KNP,” Chauhan said.
