Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): With the winter season around the corner, cheetahs are likely to be released again into the open forests in Kuno in the coming days. The officers of Kuno National Park said the Cheetah Steering Committee in the next meeting can discuss the possibilities of releasing the big cats into the wild.
As of now, Kuno has 14 adult cheetahs, which have been kept inside the enclosures. Earlier, most of them were roaming in the open forest but were caught and brought back after a few cheetahs died due to disease. In the starting phase, there were 20 adult cheetahs.
“There is full possibility that the cheetahs could be released into the wild once again in winter. A decision in this regard would be taken by the Cheetah Steering committee,” an officer of Kuno National Park said.
In the meantime, the team which went to South Africa to study how cheetahs are reared and taken care of is likely to return to India on Monday.
The team comprising Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wild Life) Asim Shrivastava, Field Director of Kuno National Park Uttam Kumar Sharma, District Forest Officers of Nauradehi Sanctuary and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, SDO Amit Rathod.
They went to South Africa on October 9. During their stay there, they have learnt several things related to the behaviour of cheetahs and how to manage them in the best possible manner and protect them from diseases etc. The DFO Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary was included in the team as the next lot of cheetahs is likely to be taken to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.
As of now, various kinds of works are underway in the sanctuary to ensure that when cheetahs arrive, they should have a vast landscape with needed greenery with an adequate number of herbivorous animals.
