According to officials, the african cheetahs that were brought to India as part of the world’s first intercontinental translocation of big cats are expected to be released into the wild soon after spending almost a year in enclosures in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park for health checks and monitoring.
Officials told PTI that on Friday (August 23, 2024), the Centre’s Cheetah Project Steering Committee decided to release the African cheetahs and their cubs, born in India, into the wild in a phased manner once monsoon would have receded from central parts of country.
“Kuno was visited by members of the committee and NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) officials who talked about releasing dates for cheetahs. Adult cheetahs will be let out in stages after rainy season while cubs’ mothers will follow them after December” said an officer.
The official added that all 25 cheetahs-13 adults and 12 cubs are doing well.
The first batch of eight Namibian-born cheetahs arrived in India last September while the second batch of twelve came from South Africa this February.
Some individuals were initially reintroduced into wilderness but were returned back alongside three fatalities; Tejas and Sooraj who died due to septicemia caused by infections entering bloodstream through open wounds on their backs and necks beneath thick winter coats infested with maggots. Tbilisi was also killed at this time.
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This situation resulted from wounds under tough winter coat on their backs which had worms underneath causing blood infection according to government’s annual report on Project Cheetah.
Earlier, officials told PTI that some animals grew winter coats unexpectedly during Indian summer-monsoon anticipating African winter (June-September). This made managing the cheetahs a major challenge in India during the first year.
“Even African experts did not expect this. The winter coat, combined with high humidity and heat, caused itching, leading the cheetahs to scratch their necks on tree trunks or the ground. This resulted in bruises and exposed skin which attracted flies that laid eggs, leading to maggot infestations, bacterial infections, and ultimately, the death of three cheetahs,” said S P Yadav. He is also former NTCA member secretary as well as Director General of International Big Cat Alliance.
As a result of these deaths, it was recommended by the steering committee “that future cheetahs for reintroduction should be sourced from countries in the Northern Hemisphere such as Kenya or Somalia to avoid biorhythmic complications.”
At present only one cheetah called Pavan is free ranging although officials say he is elusive and hard to catch.
Although such “experimental” projects have challenges and expected mortalities, there has been concern raised by both Indian and African experts regarding keeping them in enclosures for prolonged periods.
“The cheetahs are not truly living in the wild despite spending two years on Indian soil. Cheetahs prefer long journeys and they could be under severe stress”, an African expert who helped bring back cheetah into India anonymously told us last month.
Four adult cheetahs have died in India since their arrival, three females and four males. Between March 2023 and January 2024 all these deaths took place, including four due to septicemia.
In India, 17 cubs were born and 12 of them lived. At present, there are 25 cheetahs in Kuno that consist of young ones inclusive; they are all enclosed.
