Sheopur
Under the Project Cheetah, a new consignment will be brought from South Africa in the coming months. Although it is not yet decided how many leopards will be brought in this consignment, but it is said that along with Gandhisagar, some cheetahs will be brought to Koono National Park in Sheopur. This can be 8–10. It is being told that there is a positive discussion between India and South Africa governments to bring new consignments.
The first house of cheetahs in the country is Kuno National Park. Gandhisagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur district is being built as a second house. Preparations are in the final stages, but the ability to keep 20 cheetahs together is inadequate. If 15-20 leopards are brought in the new consignment, some of these cheetahs will be brought to Koono. Already small and big enclosures are ready here.
Every year 10 cheetah shifting is contract
Under Project Cheetah, there is a contract to bring 10 leopards per year from South Africa for 8-10 years. On 18 February 2023, 12 leopards were brought, but the cheetahs did not come in 2024, so now there is a discussion about shifting of cheetahs in 2025. It is believed that 20 leopards can be brought. The final decision in this regard is yet to be made. Please tell here that there are 26 cheetahs in Kuno. These include 12 adults and 14 cubs.
There is a discussion at the level of the Government of India regarding the new consignment of cheetahs from South Africa. How many leopards will be brought will be decided from there. Yes, some of them will also be brought to Kuno. , Uttam Kumar Sharma, Director, Project Cheetah, Kuno National Park
CIITES permission also became an obstacle
Another obstruction in this project is coming due to delay in getting import permission from CIITES (Convention on International Trade in Independent Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES is an eye on the international trade of endangered animals and plants. These cheetahs are to be brought to Kuno National Park in Sheopur and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur. But the delay in the approval of the CIITES has stopped. Cheetahs have not been seen in India since the 1950s. Cheetahs are included in the ‘Appendix I’ of CIITES. This means that their business is closely monitored so that they can be saved from illegal international trade and over-exploitation.
Export permission will have to be taken after import permission
After getting import permission from the CIITES, South Africa officials will have to get export permission from the CIITES to send the cheetahs. According to sources, while planning the project, the need for the approval of the CITES was ignored, which has now caused further difficulties.
There are less than 7000 leopards survived worldwide
In the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the cheetahs are placed in the ‘unsafe’ category. There are less than 7,000 leopards left worldwide, mostly found in grasslands in Africa. The number of cheetahs in southern Africa is good, but in North and West Africa, they have very low number. A small population of Asian cheetahs in Iran is also facing the threat of extinction.
Supreme Court approved in 2019
In 2019, the Supreme Court (SC) approved the proposal of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). This proposal was said to bring African cheetahs to the national parks of India again. Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was selected for this. Namibia’s Cheetah Conservation Fund promised leopard for the project. In this, only the cost of transportation was to be borne by India.