Wildlife Specialists Express Worry As 12 Cheetahs Remain In Quarantine In South Africa
Twelve cheetahs that have spent the last three months in quarantine in South Africa before being relocated to India are stressed out as a result of their prolonged confinement, according to officials, raising concerns about their ability to hunt in the wild if they are not taken out soon.
On September 17, India translocated eight cheetahs from Namibia to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno national park. The animals are currently in a confined 10-km area; from October 17, they will be relocated to a 6 sq km area where prey will be introduced for hunting. They will be released into the wild after another three to four months.
This year, the nation is also anticipated to get 12 more cheetahs from South Africa, however, the paperwork between the two nations has not yet been finalized.
The cheetahs, who are housed in an enclosure, are fed by killing wild animals. They will stop killing prey on their own if this trend continues.
Long-term isolation in captivity is usually stressful for big cats in the wild. In an enclosure, a wild cat experiences stress and develops a number of anomalies that, in particular, lower its chance of surviving in the wild.
Anish Andheria, CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, voiced similar worries. The enclosure needs to be sufficiently large and remote from people. The stress load will rise in a small enclosure. International regulations state that wild animals should only be kept in enclosures for a month at a time because keeping them there longer is not recommended from a scientific standpoint. During reintroduction, spending more time in the enclosure will lower the cheetahs’ chances of surviving in the wild.
The protracted stay in an enclosure will undoubtedly damage the cheetahs, according to YV Jhala, dean of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), who is in charge of the study involving cheetahs in India. However, we are unable to provide any additional information at this time.
The director of the South African metapopulation study, Vincent Van Der Merwe, acknowledged that there might be an issue but declined to elaborate.
Albi Modise, a spokesperson for the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment, stated, “I’m not sure why we claim it’s getting delayed. What time was designated for it?”
He made no remarks on how the procedure might be hurting the cheetahs’ health inside the enclosure.
According to officials, the South African environment ministry expressed worry about the project after Namibia signed the Memorandum of Understanding and requested a risk management strategy. In the first week of September, a group of South African government representatives visited Kuno National Park and provided the ministry with a report.
The MoU with South Africa is significant because it will allow for the yearly importation of 10 cheetahs to India. For the relocation of cheetahs from South Africa, the Madhya Pradesh forest department has already started building a tiny quarantine facility. If the memorandum is signed within the next month or so, the relocation might take place before the end of the year, according to officials.
News Mania Desk
