Bengaluru: After around four months of being confined to enclosures in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, four cheetahs were released back into the wild starting December 17.
One of the released cheetahs, a male named Agni, ventured into Rajasthan. Authorities tranquilised it in the state’s Baran district on December 25 and brought it back to Kuno.
Agni was among the 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa into India as part of Project Cheetah, which aims to introduce the African cheetah in some Indian grasslands.
Agni ventures into Rajasthan, tranquilised
On the evening of December 25, authorities tranquilised Agni, which had ventured into the forest of Kelwara in Rajasthan’s Baran district, around 50 kilometres from the adjoining Kuno National Park.
The cheetah has been brought back to Kuno – where Project Cheetah is ongoing – as per news reports.
As per a report by the Times of India, Agni crossed the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border on Christmas Eve and wildlife teams began monitoring its movement after it was spotted in Kelwara.
Teams had lost track of Agni’s locations for four days, per the report on December 25.
“Agni reached the forest of Baran district in neighbouring Rajasthan. The cheetah was tranquilised on Monday and brought back to KNP. Agni is being shifted into an enclosure,” an official of Kuno Forest Division told PTI.
Agni was one of the four cheetahs re-released into the wild starting December 17.
All cheetahs released into the wild were re-captured in August and confined in enclosures since then due to health concerns.
Agni and Vayu, who form a male coalition, were released together in Kuno’s Parond forest range – which is part of the tourism zone – on December 17.
Authorities released a female, Veera, in Kuno on December 20; the next day, they also released Pavan, a male cheetah, in Kuno’s Peepalbaodi tourist zone, as per PTI.
The intention is that tourists can now spot the big cats on their visits to the national park.
Experts worry about impacts of enclosure confinement
However, the long confinement of cheetahs to enclosures would have “biological and behavioural impacts”, an expert told Down To Earth.
Africa does not keep cheetahs captive for more than three months, as this can change and weaken their ability to acclimatize in the wild – but this isn’t being followed in India, the expert said.
Another scientist “closely associated with the project”, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also told DTE that the cheetahs may also face challenges with breeding, as loss of fertility over time could be an issue.
