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 cubs were born in Kuno in March 2023 when a Nambian
If Cheetah is the fastest animal on four legs, Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrines) is the fastest bird , faster than the spotted cat that may soon be reintroduced in India, may be in some jungle of Madhya Pradesh also. A survey is on for the reintroduction of Cheetah in India which has a recorded speed that varies from 109.4 km per hour to 120.7 km per hour . But the stooping Shaheen has a diving speed of about 389 km per hour.Peregrine falcon,the English name of this amazing predator bird may not be common but Shaheen, the Hindi word for the bird is very popular. The India sub -species of Falco peregrines is known as Falco peregrinus peregrinator or shaheen falcon . It is a non-migratory subspecies of the peregrine falcon found mainly in the Indian subcontinent. In India, Shaheen is spotted almost across the country, mainly in rocky and hilly regions. The Shaheen is also reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
Shaheen Number Unknown in India
Vultures
Recently Shaheens were in news after a number of the predator birds were sighted during the just concluded count of the threatened vultures in Madhya Pradesh. A typical Peregrine Falcon male can weigh somewhere between 750 grams to 1200 grams and is about 16 inch long . Shaheen is the fastest animal on earth while taking dive and as it executes this dive, the Peregrine falcon soars to a great height, then dives steeply at speeds of over 350 kms per hour pouncing upon its prey in the air.
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Director of Panna national park Uttam Kumar Sharma confirmed that , “ Peregrine falcons can attain this very high speed while taking its dive”. A good number of Shaheens were sighted in Panna tiger reserve where the number of endangered vultures has increased from 666 last year to 722 in 2021, maximum in any other national park of the state.
Wildlife experts said that Peregrines use a “specific flying technique when hunting and it is known as stoop.” The stoop is gravity-assisted and is considered more a controlled fall . “They fly high above their prey and close their wings falling like a stone downwards . Their aerodynamic shape helps attain high velocity speed stunning their targets .
However, their normal flight was recorded between 22 and 26 mph.Partners in Flight, is an organization launched in 1990 in response to growing concerns about declines in the populations of many land bird species, estimated in 2020 the global breeding population to be 140,000 with 17% spending some part of the year in the U.S, 5% in Canada, and 5% in Mexico. Their population in India is unknown.
Banner pic : Shaheen atop a tree. Courtesy Panna National Park
Interesting read !!
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