Madhya Pradesh: Cheetahs to be moved to bigger bomas next week

BHOPAL: All eight cheetahs are likely to be released in larger ‘bomas’ (enclosures) by the first week of November, probably the 5th or 6th.
This was decided during the second round of meeting of the cheetah task force on Monday. Some of the members, including one from WII Dehradun, were not present, while Dr Y V Jhala was invited as a special guest, say sources. The special task force, constituted by the ministry of environment, to monitor cheetah introduction at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, and other suitable designated areas had held its first meeting on October 27, during which shortcomings were pointed out.
NTCA came down heavily on forest department over preparation
Some officers had stressed on more preparations inside Kuno before releasing the eight cheetahs in larger enclosures, and this might take a couple of weeks. According to the schedule, cheetahs were to be shifted on October 17 to help them acclimatize better and prepare them for hunting, said officers.
Since Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), Namibia and other experts wanted more arrangements prior to shifting, the schedule was changed. A major concern was that the internal fences were less than 2 metre high, which cheetahs can easily leap. NTCA came down heavily on the state forest department over the preparations during the meeting, said sources