Cheetah to roam in MP national park by August

NEW DELHI:  After it was declared extinct in India in 1951, half-a-dozen cheetahs from South Africa are likely to be re-introduced in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur National Park (KNP) as early as August this year, said an Environment Ministry official.

A team of ministry officials had visited South Africa and Namibia to strike a deal as part of the country’s plan to re-introduce 50 big cats in the next five years. A team of experts from South Africa are expected to visit the KNP by Mid-June to take stock of the re-introduction plan along with Indian counterparts. The move comes as there has been a concern about the survival issue of cheetahs from South Africa.

Under the ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’, the government plans to bring back independent India’s only extinct large mammal. Cheetah happens to be the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India, mainly due to over-hunting and habitat loss.

“India is likely to get 5-6 cheetahs from South Africa by August and they will be re-introduced in KNP. Based on the assessment and survival of the big cats, more will be brought in batches from Namibia also,” said a top ministry official.

Discussions to bring the cheetah back to India were initiated in 2009. Experts from across the world, officials of the Government of India, including Ministry of Environment, and representatives of states, met and decided to conduct site surveys to explore the reintroduction potential. Amongst the 10 surveyed sites, Kuno Palpur National Park was rated the highest.