Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As many as four cheetahs have been released into the soft Boma (enclosures) from their quarantine enclosures in the span of two days. The rest of the cheetah will be also released into the soft boma after their health check up.
These big cats were kept inside quarantine after they were captured along with other cheetahs from the open jungles after a few cheetahs died due to the maggot infection around their neck, allegedly due to radio collar.
Total 14 cheetahs were inside the quarantine enclosures and of them, four have been released into the Soft Boma. “The work of releasing the pair of cheetahs into the soft enclosures from their quarantine enclosures has commenced. The work of releasing remaining cheetahs into the soft enclosure will be carried out in coming days as well,” said an officer of Kuno National Park while talking to Free Press.
On Monday, cheetah Vayu and Agni were released into the Soft Boma as both of them passed the health check up. They were in a quarantine enclosure from June 27 and are healthy . They were released into the soft boma in presence of senior forest officers and veterinary doctors. A day earlier, two male Cheetahs-Gaurav and Sharya- were released from soft Boma. The duo was in a quarantine enclosure since August 19 and their health was being strictly monitored. When both of them passed all the health parameters, the decision was taken to release them into the Soft Boma. Total twenty adult cheetahs were brought to Kuno National Park from Namibia and South Africa.
Of them, six have died in their first year of translocation period. Now only fourteen adult cheetahs are left in Kuno. Apart from this, Siyaya had given birth to four cubs and of them three died. One cub is surviving and it is showing good adaptation skills and is a big hope of the cheetah project.
The buzz is that once again cheetahs would be released into the wild once the monsoon season is over. With the start of winter season, forest officials can give a thought to releasing cheetahs into the wild. In winter, another lot of cheetahs are expected to reach Madhya Pradesh and they might be then shifted to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur.
