Bhopal: After implementing the pioneering cheetah introduction project, authorities of the Kuno National Park (NP) in Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh are on road to achieve another milestone in the conservation of the big cat by rewilding a cheetah cub, reared in the captivity after being abandoned by its mother in its infancy in the NP.
The cub, the only survivor among its three siblings, born in the first litter of female cheetah Jwala in Kuno NP in May 2023, is set to undergo the rewilding process after being released in the wild, a senior forest officer said on Monday.
“The cheetah, which is around 22 months old now, has been left in a separate enclosure to live in isolation. The rewilding of the feline will start when it will be released into the wild in the NP”, field director of the Kuno NP Uttam Kumar Sharma told this newspaper.
Once the cheetah is released into the wild, the forest officials will closely monitor its behaviour such as if it is able to hunt and also protect itself as well as its kill from the top predators while in the wild, Mr Sharma said.
Jwala abandoned the cub when three other cubs died of dehydration in the NP in May 2023.
There is no exclusive facility for rewilding the cheetahs in India like the tiger rewilding Centre in Gorela in Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh forest department has been credited to have pioneered the rewilding of the tigers in the world in the 1980s.
“But, rewilding cheetahs is a whole new ball game. It is very challenging since a cheetah needs to protect itself and its food from top predators such as tigers and leopards when it is in the wild. The tiger however faces no such threats”, the forest officer said.
Successful rewilding of cheetahs has been done in Africa.
Two of the 24 cheetahs in Kuno NP were released into the wild on December four, 2024.
The remaining cheetahs will be released into the wild in phases.
Eight cheetahs were moved from Namibia to Kuno NP in September 2022 in the first ever intercontinental translocation of carnivores under a cheetah introduction project.
Six months later, 12 more cheetahs were brought to Kuno NP from South Africa.
After the death of some cheetahs and the birth of cubs, there are now 24 cheetahs including 12 cubs in Kuno NP.
