Bhopal: 12 cheetahs to be tranquilised in South Africa before translocation

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Twelve cheetahs will be tranquilised in their enclosures in South Africa on February 17 to facilitate their translocation to Kuno National Park in Sheopur district. The effect of tranquilisation lasts for about 40 minutes. During this period, experts will check health of cheetahs before they will be shifted to plane, said a senior forest officer wishing anonymity.

He said five-member Indian team, which is in South Africa, was trying to get information about African cheetahs. Team is also watching the movements of cheetahs in their enclosures to assess their health. Notably, 12 cheetahs will be brought to Kuno National Park on February 18.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will release 12 South African cheetahs into their enclosure in Kuno National Park on February 18.

At present, Kuno National Park has eight Namibian cheetahs.

At Kuno National Park, cheetahs will be kept in quarantine for about a month before shifting them into big enclosures. It’s a standard protocol that after translocation, wild animals are kept in quarantine for about one month to ensure that they do not suffer from disease and to check whether they are infected with disease.