Bhopal News: Botswana Cheetahs To Be Kept In Separate Enclosures In Kuno National Park

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Eight cheetahs from Botswana, scheduled to arrive on February 28 at Kuno National Park, will be kept in separate enclosures.

A decision on the number of cheetahs to be shifted to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur and Nauradehi Sanctuary in Sagar district will be taken at a higher level later.

Talking to Free Press, Kuno National Park field director Uttam Kumar Sharma said the park has eight enclosures and all the cheetahs will be housed there upon their arrival.

The higher authorities will decide about the number of cheetahs to be shifted to Nauradehi and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuaries. Kuno has an adequate prey base for cheetahs, and additional measures are being taken to further augment it, the official added.

Sources said to boost the prey base around 600–700 cheetals will be brought to Kuno from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and Kanha Tiger Reserve. Once the cheetals are captured in Bandhavgarh and Kanha, they will be shifted to Kuno, a senior park official said.

A tiger from Ranthambore strays into Kuno

A tiger from Rajasthan’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve is often being sighted in areas inhabited by cheetahs in Kuno National Park. Officials said the big cat has been spotted several times in the Tiktoli forest range.

Kuno Field Director Uttam Kumar Sharma said this is not the first instance that a tiger has strayed into park from Ranthambore.From time to time, tigers sneak into the jungles of Kuno, however, every time, only a single tiger is sighted.

Had the tiger and tigress arrived jointly, then Kuno could develop a robust population of big cats. “It is from the last 20 years the instances of tiger sneaking out from Ranthambore and staying in the jungles of Kuno for some time have been reported,” the official stated.