Cheetahs establishing their foothold in Kuno
5 min read
Raveesh Benjamin
Bhopal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious cheetah project has completed two years. The Prime Minister had released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia in the Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh. After this, 12 more cheetahs were brought from South Africa and released. Due to the new land and climate change, these cheetahs initially had problems in adjusting to the weather here. As a result, six adults and three out of four cubs born here also died, due to which questions were also raised on the project. Now when the 12 cheetahs brought from South Africa have completed two years on February 18, the reduction in the mortality rate of these cheetahs during this period has achieved the first goal of the success of the project.
Their survival rate is better than the cheetahs brought from Namibia in the beginning. Out of the 12 cheetahs brought from South Africa, 33.3% died, while out of the cheetahs brought from Namibia, 37.5% died. The three female cheetahs brought from Africa have given birth to 12 cubs so far, out of which 6 are completely healthy. These cheetahs have now not only completely adapted to the Indian environment, but are also increasing the population in their new home Kuno. The death of 50% cheetahs in new habitats is considered normal. Currently, 12 cheetahs and 14 cubs are enjoying themselves in the jungle in Kuno.
There was a time when the speed of the cheetah used to be the pride of Indian forests. But by 1947, the population of cheetahs completely vanished. In 1948, the last cheetah was seen in Surguja, Chhattisgarh. It was shot down. Cheetah is considered to be an amazing miracle of high speed. This ferocious wild animal was also known for its unique and flexible physique. Due to this agility in the body, it is the fastest runner among wild animals.
In the last century, the number of cheetahs was up to one lakh, but the cheetah found in almost all Asian countries including India and open grassy forests of Africa, is now very few in number in the entire Asian forests. King Cheetah (Acinonyx Rex) is found in Zimbabwe. Only a few cheetahs are left in the forests of Africa as well. There are only a few cheetahs in the Serengeti National Park of Tanzania and the forests of Namibia. Despite all the modern and scientific methods of breeding, the number of this agile breed of the forest is not being increased. This is the failure of scientific arrogance in front of nature. If we believe the report of the Zoological Society of London, 91 percent of the cheetahs in the world were extinct in 1991 itself. Now only 7100 cheetahs are left in the whole world. Only 50 cheetahs are left in Iran of Asia. The Masimara region of the African country Kenya was considered to be the stronghold of cheetahs, but now their numbers have reduced to a very low number.
In such a situation, the increase in the population of cheetahs in India is good news for the world. In the last century, the number of cheetahs was up to one lakh, but the cheetahs found in the open grassy forests of Africa and almost all Asian countries including India are now few in number in the entire Asian forests. King Cheetah (Acinonyx Rex) is found in Zimbabwe. Only a few cheetahs are left in the forests of Africa as well. There are only a few cheetahs in the Serengeti National Park of Tanzania and the forests of Namibia. Despite all the modern and scientific methods of breeding, the number of this agile breed of the forest is not being increased.
This is the failure of scientific arrogance in front of nature. If we believe the report of the Zoological Society of London, 91 percent of the cheetahs in the world were extinct in 1991 itself. Now only 7100 cheetahs are left in the whole world. Only 50 cheetahs are left in Iran in Asia. The Masimara region of the African country Kenya was considered to be the stronghold of cheetahs, but now their number is very few. In such a situation, the increase in the population of cheetahs in India is good news for the world. Till the fifth decade of the last century, cheetahs were also present in zoos of America. After many efforts of zoologists, these cheetahs gave birth to cubs in 1956, but none of the cubs could be saved. This was the first incident of cheetahs mating in a zoo, which failed.
The reproduction of the violent animals of the forest is affected surprisingly in zoos, so lions, tigers, leopards and cheetahs do not wish to mate in zoos. Some members of the last generation of cheetahs in India were in the dense forests of Bastar-Sarguja, which were seen in 1947. Before the state or the Indian government could take action to take necessary measures for their conservation, these last descendants of cheetahs were also killed by kings and maharajas who were fond of hunting and the breed of Indian cheetahs came to a complete halt. After Kuno, preparations are underway to establish a new family of cheetahs in Gandhisagar Sanctuary of Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh. 28 Cheetal have been left in this forest region for the food of these cheetahs.
The kings and emperors of our country were fond of rearing cheetahs like horses and dogs. Cheetah cubs were reared and used to hunt in the jungle. When the kings used to go hunting in the jungle, they used to take trained cheetahs along in a bullock cart. Their eyes were blindfolded so that they would not pounce on any ordinary wild animal. When the prey came in the range of the kings’ vision, the cheetah’s eyes were opened and a hand gesture was given in the direction of the prey. In the blink of an eye, the prey would be in the jaws of the cheetah. It must have been an amazing thrill to see this amazing feat of hunting.
Apart from cheetahs, tigers and elephants are also being conserved in India. According to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the estimated number of Indian tigers in 2024 is estimated to be between 3682 to 3925 on average. It is a good thing in India that the number of tigers is continuously increasing. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers at 785. After this, Karnataka has 563, Uttarakhand has 560 and Maharashtra has 444 tigers.
There are a total of 54 tiger conservation sanctuaries in India. Three new sanctuaries have been declared. Tiger conservation measures are being taken in all of these. The number of elephants in India is also continuously increasing. Their estimated number in 2024 is 28000. According to the count done in 2017 in the elephant projects, 27312 elephants have been found. Their highest population is in Karnataka. After this, it is in Assam and Kerala.
But the behaviour of elephants and tigers in the forest is changing as their natural habitat is being surrounded by human settlements. According to a study report, in the last four years elephants have killed 2243 people and tigers have killed 300 people. These facts are definitely shocking but they cannot be denied. The conflict between wild animals and humans continues. Therefore, to protect them, there is a need to build strong fences or walls to mark the sanctuary boundaries.
