India plans to import cheetahs from Africa for the next 15 years in order to establish at least four viable cheetah populations that can be managed as a meta-population, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest said here on Monday.
The first batch of eight animals – five females and three males – will arrive in Jaipur on September 17 from where they would be heli-lifted to Kuno national park in Madhya Pradesh for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release them in their designated quarantine enclosure on his birthday.
The park – originally prepared as the second site for Asiatic lions – would be having 20 animals initially. Over the next five years 4-8 animals were to be brought in every year till the park was saturated, officials said.
The current carrying capacity for Kuno (748 sq km area) is a maximum of 21 cheetahs. Once restored fully, the larger landscape can hold about 36 animals. The carrying capacity can be further enhanced by including the remaining part of the Kuno Wildlife Division (1,280 sq km) through prey restoration.
For establishing a meta-population with spotted cats at Kuno, Nauradehi, Gandhisagar and Mukundara forests, India would have to import African cheetah (2-4 animals) at a gap of every 1-4 years for the next 15 years because of the cub mortality of 30-60 per cent and adult mortality of 12-15 per cent among the animals, according to a document prepared by the ministry.
While the first batch of the spotted cats will be coming from Namibia, another 12 animals have already been collared and kept in quarantine in South Africa. They would be transferred once India and South Africa sign an agreement.
A three-member team of officials have left for Windhoek to oversee the transfer process. On Sunday Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with other ministers and senior officials reviewed the preparations at Kuno.
After spending a month in quarantine, the animals would be released in a larger holding area (six sq km) where live prey would be available. The forest officials will keep the animals under watch for another few weeks before a decision is taken on their release in the wild.
During its construction, three leopards entered the holding facility, but the forest officials managed to oust two of them. One cub, however, continues to stay inside but is unlikely to cause trouble for the imported cheetah.
Kuno, according to the ministry document, offers the prospect of housing four large felids – tiger, lion, leopard and cheetah – as they used to coexist in the past.