The Wildlife India

Posts

Future Tense For Cute Cheetah Cubs of Kuno

Kuno National park released two short documentaries with beautiful pictures of cheetah cubs and their mothers.The cute cheetah cubs in the moving pictures attract eyeballs. Cheetah siblings playing in the lush green grasslands after monsoon in Kuno fascinate all and sundry. For record, in the last 24 months, the same number of cheetahs survived- 12 adult cheetahs of the original 20 airlifted from Africa – Namibia and South Africa- and 12 of the 17 cubs born in Kuno. As the Union ministry of Environment ,Forest and Climate Change (MoEFC&C) celebrates the “two successful years of the cheetah project in Kuno”, lo and behold, all the cheetahs are still in captivity and none of them are free ranging so far.What is the future of these cubs . Their future is linked with the future of the cheetah project. Safe in Boma, Cubs Yet to Face Jungle Threats The documentaries showcase playful cheetah cubs in Kuno. The first cheetah...

Prolonged Cheetah Captivity in Kuno Delays Next Batch of Cheetah

India intends to bring 12 cheetahs annually for 8 to 10 years to continue its ambitious cheetah introduction project. But for the past 18 months, the country has not been able to procure cheetahs from any of the countries in Africa where cheetahs are found . Apparently they- the African countries are "quite worried over the fact that none of the surviving cheetahs in India are free ranging" - meaning they are still placed inside large enclosures or bomas in Kuno national park ”, confides a senior official in Delhi.Death of cheetah Pawan further worsens the situation. India’s much hyped and ambitious Cheetah reintrodution project seems to have hit a major roadblock. The first batch of 8 cheetahs reached India in September 2022 followed by 12 more spotted cats from South Africa in February 2023. Why India Not Getting Cheetahs Restoring cheetah populations is considered by India to have vital and far-reaching conservation ...

Ken Betwa Project : Plan to Massacre Millions of Trees Give Goosebumps

India should drop the idea of Ken Betwa Linking Project (KBLP) which will require felling of 2 to 4 million trees in the emerald forests of Panna national park . Think of the loss of this staggering number of trees in the backdrop of the unprecedented summers that the country experienced in the year 2024. Many parts of Bundelkhand where Panna is situated recorded 49 degrees Celsius while the mercury soared to 52.9 degrees C in Delhi, later corrected by the government to 50 degrees C (49.9). For a moment forget the loss of tiger habitat in the park, think over our own survival. Referring to the special morphological significance and unique biodiversity of Panna national park, the central empowered committee of the Supreme Court on the KBLP observed ," implementing this project would result in the complete breakdown of the evolutionary processes of millions of years." It warned of t...

A Cheetah By The Tail

Cheetah rescue operations after they stray away from the safe confines of congested Kuno national park have been reported regularly in India since September 2022 when the maiden batch of African cat landed in India amidst much fanfare. But the latest visuals of yet another such action- this time in a crowded Rajasthan village in Karauli district-put a question mark again on the safety of the animal. This cheetah had to be handled physically in order to prevent it from falling into a ravine as it cornered at the crest of the ravine after darting amid a gathering of an huge crowd nearby. Pawan's Life Was At Risk Rajasthan forest department officials alerted Kuno National Park authorities about the cheetah leading them to a rescue operation. Pawan, the male cheetah had wandered into Rajasthan through Chambal river bank and was spotted by the local ...

Cheetah Cubs Born in Boma , Do They Have Conservation Value ?

When Aasha gave birth to three cubs in one of the enclosures of Kuno national park - there was good news and bad news. The good news is that this is the second litter of cheetah on Indian soil after Siyaya, another Namibia cheetah, gave birth to four cubs in March 2023 and that the animal seems to have acclimatized further in India conditions. Birth in captivity will also enhance their chances of survival. The three newborns from Aasha have also increased the number of cheetahs in India. The bad news is that like Siyaya's cubs, they too are born within the confines of a boma and would not get the environmental conditions required to survive in the wild. They would also be reared up by Aasha in the enclosure -safe from predators like leopards. But what does this mean? Kuno Awaits Cheetah Birth in Open Forest Cheetahs were translocated to India with a purpose. The Cheetah action plan envisages saving, conserving and developing India's grasslands .The reason for cho...

For the First Time the Official Tale of Kuno Cheetahs

Ahead of the first anniversary of the controvertial cheetah project and the release of African cheetahs in Kuno national park , interesting observations have been shared by the director of the park where 14 cheetahs await re-release in the wild. They were caught and brought back to bomas following 6 cheetah deaths after septicemia caused by abrasion from satellite collars. Uttam Kumar Sharma , the park director has dwelt in detail on cheetah movements and their exploration of the landscape , their interaction with each other and the efforts made by the park management to monitor the animals round the clock as he tried to hammer home a point- African cheetahs are adapting fast in India. Asha: The Hope Based upon his observations, Sharma has released newsletters revolving around two cheetah coalitions -Gaurav-Shaurya (Rockstars)...

Selfie With Leopard

Over fifty people in a village of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh risked their life as they played around an ailing leopard .The leopard was spotted in an isolated area of Eklara Mata village, about 70 kms away from the district headquarter of the industrial town of Dewas on August 29. The spotted cat is suffering from some neurological disorder which may have been caused by rabies of canine distemper virus. Though the villagers did not harm the animal, they were exposed to the animal bite as they fondled the animal, sat around it and tried to even have a ride before taking selfies. Leopard Ride ? Videos taken by them raise many serious questions. Who is actually the animal? The people taking selfies and having fun with the hapless spotted cat as they yelled, whistled, jostled to play and to shoot videos and images from mobile phones. But beast that seemed to have lost its animal instinct because of the ailment did not react. ...

Drones, Dogs Help Catch Cheetah Nirva In Kuno

Officials in the Union ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFC&C) and those involved in cheetah translocation in Namibia and South Africa heaved a huge sigh of relief after Nirva, the female cheetah missing since July 21 was captured in Kuno national park . But the operation to capture Nirva was a huge exercise and, perhaps, has no parallel in the history of wildlife conservation in India. Spreading over 150 hours stretched in 22 days, more than 100 forest department personnel, looked out for a cheetah in a rain drenched jungle. Day in , day out ,they walked on foot, rode elephants, flew drones and deployed dogs in search of the cheetah. Hard work and perseverance paid off and Nirva was caught and captured. “Nirva is healthy and has been kept inside boma for further health check-up”, said Aseem Shrivastava, the chief wildlife warden of Madhya Pradesh. Nirva in Kuno was Like Needle in Haystack Operation Nirva began in ...