Bhopal: Over the past four days, forest officials in Madhya Pradesh have released nine of 14 cheetahs from their quarantine bomas (enclosure) into bigger and soft enclosures with radio collars re-attached around their necks.
This was done after all the cheetahs were seen shedding their winter coat, a response to their circadian rhythm, forest officials told ThePrint.
The animals were originally translocated from Africa to Kuno as part of Project Cheetah launched last year and had spent the last month in quarantine for necessary treatment and infection monitoring.
The officials are preparing to eventually re-release the 14 Cheetahs into the wilderness of Kuno National Park.
The cheetahs had been released in the park upon their arrival in India, but were recaptured and quarantined after three of them died of septicemia. Initially, the radio collars were thought to be responsible for causing lacerations around their necks and exposing their skin to parasites, but the deaths were later linked to the animals’ winter coats which had become infested with flies and maggots as they roamed the jungles of Kuno during the hot and humid monsoon period.
Three others had died from other causes, said forest officials
Project Cheetah, the first-of-its-kind intercontinental cheetah translocation programme, was launched on 17 September, 2022, with the introduction of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia into Kuno National Park. This was followed by 12 more cheetahs being brought to the park from South Africa in February this year.
But with both Namibia and South Africa falling in the southern hemisphere that experiences winters from June to August, the 20 cheetahs translocated to India developed winter coats during these months that correspond with the monsoon season in India, which lies in the northern hemisphere.
This led to the cheetahs’ thick winter coat turning into a breeding ground for maggots and flies in the humidity.
Following the death of six cheetahs, the remaining 14 animals were subsequently recaptured in August and quarantined.
Chief Conservator of Forests at Kuno National Park, Uttam Sharma, while speaking to The Print, said: “Over the last one month in quarantine, the cheetahs were closely monitored and were found fit after all necessary medical check-ups. They were also shedding their winter coat and have been given anti-parasitic medication that has an impact for three months.”
The forest officials added that the cheetahs were being released into the soft bomas that have nine compartments spread across an area of about 150 hectares to ensure they begin hunting, mating naturally and do not come under stress while being in quarantine for a prolonged period.
Also Read: From extinction to re-introduction: Brief history of Indian cheetah
Cheetah deaths
The Cheetah Project had reported its first death on 27 March this year, when a cheetah named Sashya died of kidney failure despite being under treatment for over two months. This was followed by the death of one Uday on 24 April and Daksha, a female cheetah, on 9 May from injuries sustained during mating.
According to forest department officials, it was on 11 July and 14 July that two cheetahs, named Tejas and Suraj, died of maggot infection resulting in septicaemia. This was followed by the death of another female cheetah, Dharti, from the same cause on August 2.
The officials then undertook the exercise to recapture the remaining 14 free-ranging cheetahs and they were all brought into quarantine by 13 August.
Initially, it was believed that the cheetahs were succumbing to lacerations from radio collars that exposed their skin to parasites from which they had no natural immunity. However, the death of Tejas, Suraj and Dharti was attributed to septicaemia resulting from wounds beneath their dense winter coat on the back and neck regions getting infested with maggots.
These occurrences, according to forest officials, were unprecedented for the species and were not anticipated even by international cheetah experts.
Speaking to ThePrint, Dr Rajesh Gopal, chairman of the Cheetah Steering Committee, said: “Initially, even I thought the infection was a result of the radio collar, but similar infection was also found on the dorsal area of another cheetah. However, it was more prevalent around the neck which has greater fur.”
The forest department officials are now considering re-releasing the quarantined cheetahs into the park in the coming winter season. In preparation for this, male cheetahs Gaurav and Shaurya were released into the soft bomas on Sunday, 17 September, which marked the first anniversary of the Cheetah relocation project.
Two more cheetahs, Vayu and Agni, were released Monday. Then Asha, Gamini and Prabash were moved into the soft bomas Tuesday, followed by Pawan and Nabha Wednesday.
“With the onset of winters, when there are fewer ticks and flies and the weather is conducive to the growth of flora and fauna, it is a good time for the cheetahs to be released in the wild,” said Gopal, adding that “no final decision” has been taken yet and the matter will be discussed in the coming meetings of the steering committee.
The forest officials were also hopeful that they would not have to face the same challenge the next monsoon because by then the cheetahs would have acclimated to the weather pattern of India.
However, Gopal warned that it may take up to two years for the animals to get completely acclimatised.
Another point being deliberated by the steering committee, he said, was about getting the next batch of cheetahs from countries that fall in the northern hemisphere and have a climatic pattern similar to India’s.
“We are also simultaneously working on getting advanced radio collars, specially designed for cheetahs and of lighter weight, as compared to conventional radio collars,” he said.
“There are several countries such as Somalia and Kenya which can be considered for getting cheetahs into India,” he added.
‘Project a success’
“17 September, 2022, marked a history in the arena of wildlife conservation in India with the world’s fastest land animal finally back in India after almost 75 years of their local extinction from the country,” the environment ministry had said in a release Sunday.
Project Cheetah, implemented under the supervision of an expert team consisting of government officials, scientists, wildlife biologists and veterinarians belonging to Namibia, South Africa and India, has been termed a success after it met with four of the six criteria established for assessing the short-term success of the cheetah reintroduction programme in India.
These included 50 per cent survival of the introduced cheetahs for the first year, establishing a home range in Kuno National Park, successful reproduction in the wild and survival of the wild-born cheetah cubs after a year, successful first-generation breeding and cheetah-based revenue contributing to community livelihood.
On 23 March, female cheetah Jawala had given birth to four cubs, of which three succumbed to intense heat, while one cub is presently being monitored by veterinarians, according to forest officials.
It was noted that the project was successful in ensuring 50 per cent survival of the introduced cheetahs, establishment of home ranges, birth of cubs and direct revenue contribution to local communities through engagement of cheetah trackers and indirect appreciation of land value in the surrounding areas.
Forest officials told ThePrint that with 14 cheetahs surviving from the 20 that were brought in, along with one newborn cub, the survival rate of the animals stood at 70 per cent, much above the stipulated mark.
According to forest officials, a proposal for a cheetah safari on the lines of the Devalia safari in Gir National Park in Rajasthan is also pending with the Central Zoo Authority for in-principle nod.
This is an updated version of the story.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)