"Cheetahs Shown Ability To Survive In India": Namibia Conservation Fund

India's cheetah project is progressing well beyond the initial projections made before the animals were translocated, said Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund which is helping the Indian government reintroduce the animals in the country.

It has, however, cautioned the Indian authorities of more challenges as the remaining cheetahs are released into unfenced areas of the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund's (CCF) update on the cheetah project comes amid concerns over the health and well-being of the translocated cheetahs, the carrying capacity of the Kuno National Park, and the availability of secondary sites for the spotted felines in the country.

"It's too early to label Project Cheetah a success. But, so far, the cheetahs have shown every ability to survive in India. There's a long road ahead and there will be more setbacks, but from the perspective of the longest-running cheetah conservation project in Africa, the CCF considers things in India are moving well," it said.

In a tweet on Monday, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "With its 33-year-old history of working with cheetahs in the wild, Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia, remains optimistic about Project Cheetah's long-term success in India. CCF says Project Cheetah is on the right track." With three adult cheetahs and as many cubs dying at Kuno in three months, Yadav had last week said, "We take responsibility for whatever happened", but asserted that the translocation project will be a major success.

Three adult cheetahs — one from Namibia and two from South Africa — have died within the holding enclosures at Kuno since March. Additionally, three cubs born to a female Namibian cheetah succumbed to severe dehydration and malnutrition during a recent heatwave in Madhya Pradesh, where temperatures soared to as high as 47 degrees Celsius.

The CCF said losses were factored into the project's first-year estimates "Furthermore, the birth of the first successful litter indicates that project cheetah is progressing well beyond initial projections made before the animals were translocated," it said.

"Looking forward, the team can expect to face additional challenges after more cheetahs are released into unfenced areas of the Kuno National Park. Leopard is a natural competitor of the cheetah. But in India, the density of leopards at Kuno is far greater than in African ecosystems which may lead to increased pressure on the cheetahs," the CCF said.

Additionally, Kuno has other large carnivores that are not known to cheetahs. These include wolves, sloth bears, dhole dogs and occasionally dispersing tigers that wander through from a nearby reserve. Any interactions between cheetahs and these species will be precedent-setting in modern times, it said.

About concerns raised by a group of German researchers about the cheetah-carrying capacity of Kuno, the CCF emphasised that precise determination is currently impossible until the cheetahs have firmly established their home ranges.

It noted that the cheetah project's field teams are building India's cheetah learning curve rather quickly. They are being exposed to a variety of veterinary issues and behaviours associated with free-ranging cheetahs.

"Because this is a long-term project, with each of these lessons learned, the chances for overall success increase," it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first batch of eight spotted felines from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 last year. In a second such translocation, 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released into Kuno on February 18.

Three cheetahs died in March and April. Of the 17 remaining adult cheetahs, seven have already been released into the wild.

A high-level steering committee recently set up by the Centre to oversee the project's progress has recommended releasing seven more cheetahs into the wild in three phases by the third week of June.

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