Bhopal: A steering committee monitoring the re-introduction of cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh has said that the spotted cats — brought back to enclosures from the wild after multiple deaths among the group — will not be released “unless the prey populations are at an appropriate level”, an official document accessed by ThePrint shows.
Ahead of the translocation of the fastest land animal from Africa, experts had raised concerns over possibly inadequate prey density at the Kuno National Park, the area identified to host the species that disappeared from India about 70 years ago.
After their release into the wild, no instances of cheetahs hunting cattle or coming in conflict with humans in search of prey were recorded. Of the six deaths of adult cheetahs recorded so far, three were said to have died from septicaemia while the other three fell to other reasons including kidney ailments and injuries sustained during mating.
“The cheetahs will not be released from the larger enclosure into the wild unless the prey populations are at an appropriate level of 35 animals per square km and ideally to 50 per sq km,” the 11-member committee headed by Rajesh Gopal noted after its meeting on 27 October.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has been asked to carry out a fresh assessment of the prey density. WII scientist Qamar Qureshi and its former director P.R. Sinha are among the expert members of the Centre-appointed panel to oversee the implementation of Project Cheetah.
The WII report is expected over the next week, and a call on the release of the cheetahs is likely to be taken in December.
The steering committee, appointed in May following the death of three cheetah cubs, also found that the Cheetah Action Plan, a document that formed the core of the translocation project and highlighted India’s preparedness, was inadequate and needed to be redone. The action plan is being revised after deaths of the three cheetahs from septicaemia when developing winter coats.
At the last meeting held in October, the panel members noted that the Cheetah Action Plan failed to adequately address the landscape management plan, as it neither had maps of grasslands nor their distribution or carrying capacity.
“Neither the cheetah experts from South Africa nor those in India were able to envision the impact on animals owing to changes in their circadian rhythm. Every action plan requires a mid-term revision and correction based on the learning of handling cheetahs and we will be doing the same,” Cheetah Steering Committee chairman Dr Rajesh Gopal told ThePrint.
Project Cheetah was launched 17 September 2022, with the introduction of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno. This was followed by the release of 12 more cheetahs brought in from South Africa in February.
Renowned conservationist Valmik Thapar questioned the viability of the project, contending that it suffered both from the points of prey base and the landscape in Kuno.
“It has been one year, and yet they have not been able to release the animal into the wild. It is a completely failed multi-million dollar project that has been shrouded in secrecy with no one allowed near the animal. It has been a non-viable project since the beginning. It is not just about the prey base, but also about the landscape in Kuno. The only way forward for survival of whatever cheetahs that remain is to keep them in enclosure and allow people to see them. The entire project needs to be stopped immediately. When will we realise that it has failed? You cannot carry something that has failed,” Thapar told ThePrint.
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Prey depleting due to cheetahs?
The Kuno National Park was chosen for cheetah reintroduction, as experts found it had the best suited habitat and the highest prey base among 10 sites surveyed in central India.
“Kuno with its reduced human pressures after the relocation of villages from within the park holds potential to sustain up to 21 cheetahs based on its existing prey base. Based on carrying capacity estimates, the potential cheetah habitat covering over 3200 km² in Kuno landscape with restorative measures and scientific management could provide prey base for up to 36 cheetahs, making this one of the most suitable landscapes for cheetah in terms of prey availability,” the Cheetah Action Plan said.
“Chital was the most abundant wild prey in Kuno with a population density of 38.48 individuals per sq km and the density of all potential cheetah prey species stood at 51.58 per square km,” it said.
This was reconfirmed by the WII report during the Tiger Census which suggested the Chital density at an average of 70 animals per sq km in Kuno’s two ranges, officials from the Madhya Pradesh forest department said.
Notwithstanding these findings, the panel has tasked the WII to undertake a fresh study to reassess the animal density before a call on the re-release of cheetahs can be taken.
“It is correct that these reports pointed out an adequate animal density at the Kuno National Park, but during the visits at Kuno, we did not find adequate traces of pellets or animal sightings which should be common with such high animal density,” Dr.Gopal said.
There are many occasions wherein false absence or presence of animals are recorded, the panel head said, adding that it is preferable to be sure of the animal density before the release of the cheetahs into the wild.
According to the panel members, the lack of sighting of prey base was also being looked into in light of proliferation of leopards. The increase in leopard population in Kuno could be a probable reason for decline in the prey density, they explained.
The Cheetah Action Plan had noted that there was a significant number of leopards at Kuno, putting their density at about 9 leopards per 100 sq km. “Cheetah and leopards can coexist if an adequate prey base and other resources are available. With prey restoration, reintroduction of lions as well as colonisation by tigers in future are both viable possibilities in Kuno landscape,” it added.
An official of the forest department said that the data of the leopards was tabulated during the tiger census, but the report is yet to be released. “The numbers of leopards in Kuno are said to have increased to 90 leopards per 100 sq km. The exact numbers, however, are awaited,” he said.
The panel head, meanwhile, said that the release of cheetahs would be affected if the prey base is not sufficient. “Then the release of the Cheetahs would be put on hold. It does not help to release the cheetahs into the wild without the adequate prey density,” Dr. Gopal told ThePrint.
Prey base replenishment seemingly could take years, going by the officials of the forest department. “The prey density naturally grows at a rate of 1.5 percent per year. Considering this, it will take about a decade for the prey density to reach the desired level. And this growth will also take place considering that the environment is conducive,” the official said.
The steering committee is now gearing up towards the revision of the ‘Cheetah Action Plan’, which will look at the Landscape Concept of Management. This aspect will look at management of areas much beyond the protected forest land for conservation efforts.
This is because the wild animals are expected to move beyond demarcated forest areas and pass through other territorial and revenue divisions. For instance, the cheetah ‘Pawan’ was observed moving towards Uttar Pradesh in the eastern side of Panna towards Lalitpur and Jhansi in UP. It was tranquilised and brought back after travelling about 300 km away from the park. ‘Asha’ was seen travelling towards Chanderi in Ashoknagar district. Both were released in March.
“The landscape concept of management is the natural progression towards conservation efforts as every time an animal moves out of the forested area, it cannot be tranquilised and brought back,” explained an official.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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