The date for releasing cheetahs into the open forest has been decided in the meeting of forest officials of three states in Ranthambore, Rajasthan. If the leopards go out of the limits of Kuno National Park, then the responsibility of maintenance will be the responsibility of the forest department of the concerned district.
The time is near to release the leopards kept in the big enclosure of Kuno National Park into the open forest. Male cheetahs Agni and Vayu will be released outside on International Cheetah Day (December 4). Preparations have been made for this.
During the release of the cheetahs, senior officials of Kuno Palpur along with the members of the Cheetah Steering Committee will also be present. Earlier there was a plan to release the leopards in pairs but at present it has been decided to release the male leopards. With this, the chances of tourists seeing leopards in the open forest will increase.
Cheetahs were released into the open forest for the first time in March 2023
According to wildlife experts, a cheetah requires an area of ​​about 100 square km. The area of ​​Kuno forest is about 1200 square km. Of this, 748 square km is in the main zone and 487 km is in the buffer zone. On March 1, 2023, cheetahs Pawan and Asha were released into the open forest for the first time. A few days later, Cheetah Gaurav (Elton) and Shaurya (Freddie) were released.
During this period, many times leopards reached other districts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. They were tranquilized and brought back to Kuno. Cheetah experts say that cheetahs should not be tranquilized again and again.
A leopard had died due to infection
After the death of a leopard due to neck infection caused by rubbing with the collar ID, all the leopards roaming outside were locked in enclosures. Due to these few apprehensions, the decision on releasing the leopards into the open forest was being postponed for a long time.
Before releasing the cheetahs into the open forest, it was decided that in the state or district where the movement of cheetahs will take place, the responsibility for their food and monitoring will be the responsibility of the concerned forest division. In a meeting held on November 29 in Ranthambore, Rajasthan, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prepared by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was agreed upon and the date of releasing them into the open forest was fixed as December 4. The creation of a cheetah corridor of 1500 to 2000 square km in the three states was also discussed in the meeting.
Seven male and five female cubs out of 12 in Kuno
The sex of a total of 12 cubs present in the large enclosure of Kuno has been identified. Of these, seven cheetah cubs are male and five are female. Sex determination takes place in cheetahs only after a certain age. Four female leopards gave birth to 19 cubs on Indian soil. Of these, seven have died so far.