MP: Few cheetahs from KNP to be shifted to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary

According to a forest department official, a few African cheetahs from the Kuno National Park will be relocated to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mansaur.

Indore:A few African cheetahs translocated to Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh will be relocated to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mansaur of the state, a forest department official said. After the Supreme Court expressed concern over the deaths of cheetahs in KNP due to changes in natural habitat and diseases, the forest department decided to shift the cheetahs to other zoological parks.

Sources said that preparations are underway to redevelop the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. According to the Forest Department, after preparing the natural site of Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary by October-November, the African and Namibian cheetahs from Kuno Sanctuary will be shifted to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.

Speaking to the media, Chief Wildlife Warden JS Chauhan said that out of a total of 20 cheetahs brought from South Africa and Namibia to the Kuno Sanctuary in Sheopur under the Intercontinental Cheetah Transfer Programme, three cheetahs died due to various reasons.

Defending the department, Chauhan said that according to the Cheetah Action Plan of the Government of India if cheetahs survive for one year in the intercontinental cheetah translocation programme, then the programme is considered successful, therefore, there is no need to worry about deaths of cheetahs in Kuno.

Notably, the Supreme Court recently also took cognizance of the death of the cheetahs, since then the state forest department was trying to shift the cheetahs to some other sanctuary, although now the department itself has made it clear that in October-November, the remaining cheetahs will be shifted to Gandhi Sagar Reserve.