Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A review meeting over the Cheetah project on Tuesday revealed that one of the Cheetahs at Kuno National Park has fallen ill. However, the Additional Chief Secretary JN Kansotia, who was chairing the meeting, was informed that the big cat is undergoing treatment and its health is improving. Additional Chief Secretary JN Kansotia reviewed the project and also looked into the preparations being made at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary (Mandsaur), which is being developed as Cheetahs second home in India.
There is a strong possibility that the Central government may take the decision to translocate Cheetahs to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary anytime and so works have been expedited there. In all likelihood, cheetahs could be translocated after the monsoon. So far, it is not known from which country cheetahs will be translocated.
Meanwhile, on the lines of Kuno National Park, Cheetah Mitra’s are being developed in villages surrounding the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, Mandsaur. Villagers will be made aware about the behavior of the Cheetahs. On being contacted, Kansotia told Free Press that preparations being made at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary were reviewed. Already a team from the Centre had visited the Sanctuary and found the preparations at par.
As of now, efforts are underway to improve the prey base of Gandhi Sagar. In this regard, deer will be brought to Gandhi Sagar sanctuary from places such as Pench Tiger Reserve and Satpura Tiger Reserve. Moreover, efforts will be made to translocate black buck from Shajapur district. Moreover, a senior forest officer said that discussion was done to construct one extra enclosure so that Cheetah could be prevented from coming in contact with another wild animal’s during their quarantine period. Moreover, efforts to catch hold of leopards are underway in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. On Tuesday, one Leopard was caught. Notably, leopards are natural competitors of the Cheetah. In Kuno also, the area marked for cheetah translocation was freed from the leopard.
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