Two African cheetahs arrived in India on November 6 after spending 51 days there, including two days in a special prey-stocked enclosure before being let loose in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park. During the intervening night of November 6-7, the two cheetahs made history by killing their prey.
On the evening of November 5, Freddy and Elton, two male cheetahs, were released from quarantine and placed in the larger enclosure that is supplied with natural prey. They defeated a cheetah stag (spotted deer). The achievement is significant for the cheetah introduction procedure at Kuno since it shows that the wild cats are receptive to adjusting to their new environment. The event is also intriguing because the translocated African cheetahs had never previously encountered a cheetah; the deer is neither found on the entire African continent nor in Namibia, where the cheetahs were brought.
Indian gazelle, blue bull, four-horned antelope, wild boar, and cheetahs serve as the main prey species in the enclosure where the cheetahs have been let loose. If necessary, the prey base can be made wider.
Chief wildlife warden for Madhya Pradesh, J.S. Chauhan, described the killing this way: “Shortly after they were released [into their new enclosure] on November 5, the cheetahs attempted to hunt down a cheetah. They failed at that, but on the night between November 6 and 7, they were successful in killing another cheetah. This represents an important development in the process of reintroducing cheetahs to India.”
On September 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi relocated eight African cheetahs from Namibia and let them go to Kuno National Park. The cheetahs were first placed in a quarantine area for a month of observation, as per the plan developed by experts. They received buffalo flesh as food.
The cheetahs were supposed to be released from quarantine after a month, but the experts refused due to a few problems. Clearance eventually materialized, starting on November 5 with the release of Freddy and Elton. A third male cheetah’s release attempt had also been made, but it was put off by a minor issue with the equipment used to capture it.
Only once a female leopard, who is now within the enclosure, has been captured and relocated will the five females be let go into the prey-stocked enclosure. This is done to prevent a fight between cheetahs and leopards, which would put imports from Africa in jeopardy.
Making their first kill would, according to experts participating in the introduction procedure, be a crucial step for the cheetahs. The cheetahs would see prey creatures that they have never seen before in Africa, for starters. Second, not all of the translocated cheetahs have entirely wild origins. Consequently, making a kill might not initially come naturally to them. However, according to experts, the cheetahs would eventually be successful hunters as their innate instincts would take control.
News Mania Desk
