Cheetahs Agni, Vayu back into wild
   Date :20-Dec-2023

Cheetahs Agni, Vayu  
 
 
 
 
By Ankita Garg
 
After facing ups and down, Central Government’s ambitious wildlife experiment to revive cheetah population in India is in another phase of releasing the spotted cats into the wild. A quarter of the founder cat is already lost after the three cheetahs succumbed to septicaemia over the past months. In order to keep them surviving in Kuno National Park, forest officials recaptured the remaining felines in beginning of rainy season. A total of 14 cheetahs including one abandoned cub were confined in enclosure for past five months. Their radio collars were removed to monitor health. Five cheetahs were found to be infected with similar condition and later they were treated to protect them from infection. According to forest department, all the cheetahs are now healthy.
 
Expert team was divided into two parts over decision to release them back into the wild. Forest officials said that to release them back into wild during winters or in humid weather conditions to subside while international experts cautioned against holding cheetah captive for long duration. They said that long time captivity can put their health in peril and this also affect their breeding capacity. However, cheetah task committee has started releasing them back to the wild from December onwards. With the inauguration of Kuno Festival in Sheopur, two cheetahs Agni and Vayu were released from Ahera gate of the park under strict monitoring.
 
Field Director of KNP, Uttam Kumar Sharma said, “We are following orders of authority. We were directed to start releasing cheetahs on experiment basis. If all goes well, then other cheetahs will also be released soon. He further informed that other 13 cheetahs, including the cubs are in the enclosure. He further informed that proposal to start Cheetah Safari will soon see light of the day. He said that Kuno River area will be included in Saisaipura. To start country’s first Cheetah Safari, a total of 181.71 hectare of land has been identified and sanctioned for the safari. Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI) has also approved the proposal. The project would cost around Rs 50 crore.
Five female and three male cheetahs were brought from Namibia on September 17, 2022, and another 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa in February 2023.