Cheetahs in Kuno to be released back into wild by October-end

New Delhi: Two African cheetahs, kept in large enclosures, will be released into the wild at Kuno National Park within the next two weeks, even as talks are with Kenya and South Africa for the import of the third batch of African cheetahs, said officials on Monday.

The Union environment ministry is also scouting for a site in Sikkim for the maiden release of snow leopards, bred in captivity in Darjeeling zoo and has concluded the first-ever census of the Gangetic dolphin, but will take some time to release the report.

“We currently have 24 cheetahs in the enclosures. By October-end, they will be released into the wild. Two South African cheetahs, Vayu and Agni, will be released first,” an official said.

Since their high-profile release in a quarantine zone at Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the animals spent most of their time in enclosures in the last two years raising concerns among conservationists. The last free-ranging cheetah Pawan died in August.

Ahead of their planned release, the ministry held a workshop with forest officials of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to train them on monitoring the cats if they escape the territory of Kuno and enter other forest divisions, spanning over 6,000 sq km.

Preparations are on to ready the Gandhi Sagar sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh for the next batch of cheetahs. An Indian delegation is likely to visit Kenya in the next couple of weeks.

Snow leopards

Officials also said they were on the lookout for a suitable site in Sikkim for the release of snow leopards, raised in captivity by the Darjeeling zoo.

This comes in the wake of a success by the same zoo with red pandas last year three captive pandas were released into their natural habitat where they mated with their wild counterparts and gave birth. “This is a conservation success recognised internationally,” said an official.

River dolphin

Also, the first census of river dolphins in the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus river systems has been completed and its findings will be released soon. The population estimate was conducted for two years in 8,000 km of river stretches.

The famous river dolphin is found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system and its tributaries spanning across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. A small population of the Indus river dolphin, a close relative of the Ganges river dolphin, is also found in India.

Once the baseline data on the dolphin population is released, the ministry plans a population estimate of marine dolphins focussing on ecologically sensitive areas. The census is a part of Project Dolphin which the government launched in 2020.