Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Female cheetah Nirva has once again gone out of the monitoring system at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.
Her satellite collar has not sent signals for the last four to five days, following which the Forest Department has started a search operation.
Five teams with more than 100 forest staff have been sent into the forest to look for Nirva. Drones and CCTV cameras are also being used to search possible areas.
Officials said they are still receiving BHF signals from Nirva, but the signal has an effective range of only around 500 metres, making the search more difficult.
PCCF Wildlife Dr Samita Rajora said the satellite signal from Nirva's collar has not been received for the past four to five days. She said there is also a possibility that rain may have affected the satellite signal.
She added that five teams are searching for Nirva and more information will be shared once her location is confirmed.
This is not the first time Nirva has gone out of monitoring. In July 2023, she remained untracked for around 22 days after her satellite location stopped working. She was later found and rescued in an operation that lasted around six hours.
Cubs Now Living Separately
Nirva had been with her male and female cubs. After the collar signal stopped, both cubs moved away from her.
Forest officials said this is a natural process as cheetah cubs become capable of hunting and living on their own before separating from their mother.
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has questioned Kuno management over Nirva's missing signal. He also raised concerns about leopard deaths in Kuno and the repeated use of tranquilisation on cheetahs, questioning the park's safety and monitoring system.
With the satellite collar not providing a location, the Forest Department is currently depending on BHF signals to track Nirva.
However, their limited range means teams have to search a larger area of the forest.
