The African cheetahs introduced to India as part of a groundbreaking intercontinental project are poised to re-enter the wild in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, following a year in enclosures.
The Centre's Cheetah Project Steering Committee has announced that the cheetahs, including those born in India, will be released in a phased approach once the monsoon recedes from central India.
The decision to release the cheetahs was made on Friday, with officials from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and committee members visiting Kuno to assess the situation. The plan is to allow the adult cheetahs to roam free after the rains end, while the cubs and their mothers will be released following December when conditions are expected to be more favourable.
Currently, the park houses 25 cheetahs—13 adults and 12 cubs—who have shown good health, according to the officials. This development follows the initial introduction of eight cheetahs from Namibia in September 2022 and an additional 12 from South Africa in February 2023.
Though some cheetahs were briefly released into the wild, they were brought back to their enclosures last August after the deaths of three individuals due to septicemia, a severe blood infection.
The deaths were attributed to complications arising from the cheetahs' winter coats. These coats, which were ill-suited to the Indian climate, became infested with maggots and led to bacterial infections. This unexpected issue arose from the cheetahs' physiological adjustment to the Indian summer, as they had developed thick coats in anticipation of the colder African winter.
S P Yadav, Director General of the International Big Cat Alliance, explained that the cheetahs' condition deteriorated as their winter coats, combined with high humidity, caused severe itching. This led to the cheetahs scratching themselves against trees and the ground, creating wounds that were infested by flies and subsequently became infected.
The Steering Committee has recommended that future reintroductions consider sourcing cheetahs from Northern Hemisphere countries such as Kenya or Somalia to prevent similar issues. Despite the challenges, experts are concerned about the prolonged enclosure period for the cheetahs, which has caused stress among the animals, accustomed to long-distance travel.
Currently, only one cheetah, named Pavan, is known to be roaming free, although he is difficult to spot. The prolonged enclosure period has been criticized by experts, who argue that the cheetahs are not experiencing a truly wild environment. Seven adult cheetahs, including three females and four males, have died since their arrival in India, with four deaths attributed to septicemia between March 2023 and January 2024.
On a positive note, the cheetahs have successfully bred in India, with 17 cubs born and 12 surviving, bringing the total number of cheetahs in Kuno to 25. The reintroduction of these cheetahs into their natural habitat is seen as a critical step towards their long-term survival and adaptation in the wild.
As the cheetahs prepare for their return to the wild, conservationists and officials remain hopeful that the lessons learned from this unprecedented project will contribute to the successful establishment of a cheetah population in India, marking a significant milestone in global wildlife conservation efforts.
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