Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh is set to expand its cheetah conservation programme, with the animals now being introduced at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, also known as Nauradehi. It will become the third major cheetah habitat in the state after Kuno National Park in Sheopur and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Mandsaur-Neemuch region.
The Cheetah Steering Committee has given permission to shift four cheetahs to Nauradehi. The process will begin on Oct 7, when a male cheetah, Tholo, and a female cheetah, CCB-3, will be brought from Kuno National Park.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will release the two cheetahs into a specially prepared enclosure at Nauradehi.
CCB-3 is the sister of Radha, a cheetah already released at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
The release will coincide with the completion of 25 continuous years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi first became Gujarat Chief Minister and later Prime Minister.
MP's Largest Tiger Reserve
Spread over around 2,340 square kilometres, Veerangana Durgavati is Madhya Pradesh's largest tiger reserve. The landscape has large grasslands and open forests considered suitable for cheetahs to run and hunt.
The reserve is spread across the Sagar, Damoh and Narsinghpur regions and falls within the catchment areas of the Ken, Betwa and Narmada river systems.
Initially, the cheetahs will be kept in a 439-hectare 'soft-release boma', or protected enclosure, before they are introduced to the wider landscape.
The enclosure has been divided into five sections and equipped with power fencing. Arrangements have also been made for round-the-clock monitoring and tracking of the cheetahs.
Three Cheetah Habitats In MP
Officials had earlier considered shifting cheetahs to the Banni grasslands in Gujarat. However, as the release date there has not been finalised, the first pair is now being moved to Nauradehi.
Kuno National Park currently has 51 cheetahs, while Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, around 365 km from Kuno, has four.
Nauradehi is located around 250 km from Gandhi Sagar and about 370 km from Kuno. With the arrival of the first pair, Madhya Pradesh will have three major cheetah habitats: Kuno, Gandhi Sagar and Nauradehi.
