Kuno National Park Archives - Lokmarg

All Cheetahs Will Die Due To Mismanagement Of BJP Govt: Kamal Nath

By LokMarg 12th July 2023

Madhya Pradesh former Chief Minister and State Congress chief Kamal Nath on Wednesday slammed the BJP-led government and alleged that all cheetahs will die due to mismanagement of the state government.

Speaking about the recent death of a cheetah in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP), Kamal Nath said that no one including women, cheetahs or adivasis were safe under the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in the state.
“All cheetahs will die due to mismanagement of the BJP government. Be it women, be it cheetahs or be it adivasis, no one is safe in Madhya Pradesh,” said Kamal Nath.

Earlier today, Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Vijay Shah said that the recent death of a Cheetah in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park was a result of a natural occurrence in animals.

“I have spoken to the authorities as well and this is a natural occurrence in animals. A team of experts, including foreign experts, is monitoring each Cheetah,” said MP Forest Minister Vijay Shah.

Another Cheetah named Tejas brought to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park died on Monday due to injuries.

According to an official statement, injury marks were seen on the upper part of the neck of male cheetah Tejas (Boma number 6) by the monitoring team on Monday at around 11 am. This was informed by the monitoring team to the wildlife doctors present at the Palpur headquarters.

“Wildlife doctors went to the spot and inspected Tejas Cheetah and prima facie found the wounds serious. After obtaining permission to treat Tejas, the team of doctors left for Maukar with preparations,” it said.

The male cheetah Tejas was found dead at the spot around 2 pm. The injuries sustained by Cheetah Tejas are being probed. The cause of death can be ascertained after the post-mortem, it added.

Earlier on June 26, a translocated African cheetah was injured in a fight with other cheetahs at the Kuno National Park (KNP).

Agni, the male cheetah, sustained injuries following a skirmish between two groups of cheetahs at Kuno National Park’s open forest area.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the eight cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park on the occasion of his birthday on September 17, last year, as part of an effort to revive the extinct cheetahs in India. Another 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa in February this year.

The cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952.Under the ambitious Project Cheetah of the Indian government, the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs was undertaken according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.

India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures ‘Project Tiger’, which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem. (ANI)

MP: Escaped Namibian Cheetah ‘Oban’ Brought Back To Kuno National Park

By LokMarg 7th April 2023

‘Oban’ – one of the male Namibian cheetahs, that escaped from the boundaries of Kuno National Park, and was spotted in a village near Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district five days back, has been brought back to the Kuno National Park, officials said on Friday.

The Namibian cheetah was rescued from the forest of Shivpuri district on Thursday evening.
“Oban was caught around 4-5 pm from the forest area near Bairad village bordering Shivpuri district and has been released to Kuno National Park’s Palpur forest,” Kuno Wildlife Division District Forest Officer (DFO) Prakash Kumar Verma said.

‘Oban’ is one of the Cheetahs which were brought from Namibia that were released into the wild of Kuno National Park in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.

Officials said that it strayed out of Kuno National Park and reached Jhar Baroda village on April 2, about 20 km from the national park on Wednesday.

They said that it was under surveillance. Even after four days when Oban showed no signs of returning to the national park, forest department authorities launched an operation to rescue it.

Forest department officials said that on Thursday, Oban’s location was traced outside Kuno National Park’s boundary.

They said that Oban was wandering in the forest bordering the Shivpuri district. Based on its location, the cheetah monitoring team was moved around him.

“How Oban was caught cannot be explained, as it comes under our protocol,” Verma said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park on September 17, last year.

The cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952 but 8 cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) were brought from Africa’s Namibia as part of ‘Project Cheetah’ and the government’s efforts to revitalise and diversify the country’s wildlife and habitat. (ANI)

CM Chouhan Releases 12 Cheetahs in Kuno National Park

By LokMarg 18th February 2023

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to conserve the environment is showing a path to the world.

After releasing 12 cheetahs, imported from South Africa, in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, CM said, “Madhya Pradesh has got a gift on Mahashivratri. I thank PM Modi from the bottom of my heart, it is his vision. Twelve Cheetahs will be rehabilitated to Kuno and the total number will become 20. The Cheetahs that had come earlier have now adapted to the situation very well.”

He said that the vision of PM Modi is to protect the environment and wildlife which is showing a path to the world. The Cheetah project is one example. “I want to congratulate the entire team for bringing the Cheetahs safely,” he added.

Earlier today, Indian Air Force’s Mi-17 helicopters carrying the second batch of 12 Cheetah landed at their destination.

The big cats made their journey in Indian Air Force’s (IAF) C-17 Globemaster cargo plane.

The aircraft after a 10-hour long flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, landed at Air Force Station Gwalior today.

Last year in September, eight cheetahs from Namibia were flown into India.

The cheetahs are being brought to India as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction project on the basis of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the South African and the Indian governments.

The MoU facilitates cooperation between the two countries to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India; promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation. This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture and translocation of wildlife and community participation in conservation in the two countries. (ANI)

MP: 12 Cheetahs To Arrive Tomorrow

By LokMarg 17th February 2023

The Cheetah Project Chief of India SP Yadav on Friday said that arrangements are in place at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park for 12 African Cheetah being brought from South Africa to ensure that the big cats do not face any kind of disturbance.

“Close cameras have been installed and the big cats have been fitted with radio collars for live tracking. The quarantine enclosure we have made this time is better than the previous one,” SP Yadav said while speaking to ANI.
As many as 12 Cheetahs from South Africa will arrive on February 18 in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park after South Africa last month signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the re-introduction of Cheetahs in India to establish a viable cheetah population in the Asian country.

SP Yadav said that after bringing Cheetahs to Kuno National Park from South Africa all of their health will be tested and then they will be kept in quarantine for a Month. For this 10 quarantine boomers have been made which will be kept. Two Cheetahs each stay in two enclosures and the rest of the other cheetahs will be kept in separate quarantine boomers.

“Tonight at around 8 pm, the C-17 Globemaster Cargo plane of the Indian Air Force will take off from O R Tambo International Airport Johannesburg and is expected to land at Gwalior Airport at 10:00 am on the 18th February. This distance will be covered in almost 10 hours. The Indian Air Force aircraft left Ghaziabad Hindon Airport on Feb 16 at 6.00 am and reached there at 12:30 according to the time of South Africa” Yadav told ANI.

Cheetah Project Chief Further told ANI that the Indian Air Force cargo plane has 11 crew members who belong to the IAF, apart from this, as an advance party, our IG, DIG from the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Veterinary Doctor, Custom Officer have also been sent so that on arrival here There should not be any inconvenience in custom. Cheetah experts from South Africa will also fly in a plane with those who will come to Gwalior.

“The cheetahs coming from two different reserves are kept in crates made according to international standards. Our experience of bringing cheetahs from Namibia helps a lot that’s why the whole exercise is going very smoothly,” he added.

Asking about the differences between Namibian Cheetah and South African Cheetah, Yadav told ANI that there is no difference in species between the cheetahs of Namibia and South Africa, but they are completely wild cheetahs of South Africa, whose character is wild.

Yadav, who is secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NCTA), further told ANI that after the arrival of Cheetahs at Gwalior, there will be customs clearance, and other formalities as per international convention, and after that, all Cheetah will be loaded into an Air Force MI-17 helicopter that will take them to Kuno National Park. There is already a helipad and its maintenance work has also been done for the same along with mandatory clearance for landing.

“The 12 Cheetahs that are being brought here have been selected on a technical basis. All of them have been fitted with radio collars and were kept for 30 days of quarantine. We can track them through satellite. The proper vaccination is already done,” he added.

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be present on the occasion of the release of Cheetahs at Kuno National Park.

Earlier, eight cheetahs brought from Namibia were released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kuno National Park on the occasion of his birthday on September 17, 2022.

Radio collars have been installed in all the cheetahs and monitored through satellite. Apart from this, a dedicated monitoring team behind each cheetah keeps monitoring the location for 24 hours.

The MoU on the reintroduction of Cheetahs to India facilitates cooperation between the parties to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India; promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation.

Under the ambitious project of the Indian Government-Project Cheetah- the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs is being undertaken as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.

India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures ‘Project Tiger’ which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem.

In 1947-48, the last three cheetahs were hunted by the Maharaja of Korea in Chhattisgarh and the last cheetah was seen at the same time. In 1952 the Government of India declared Cheetahs extinct and since then Modi government has restored cheetahs after almost 75 years. (ANI)

9 Members Team Set For Monitoring Cheetahs In Kuno National Park

By LokMarg 7th October 2022

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has constituted a nine-member task force for monitoring cheetah introduction in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, and other suitable designated areas said the officials on Friday.
The committee members will focus on reviewing the progress and monitoring the health status of these Cheetahs.

“Upkeep of the soft release enclosures and protection status of the entire area. Adherence to the forest and veterinary officials’ protocols, advice on Cheetah introduction in India to Madhya Pradesh forest department and NTCA on status of Cheetah with respect to overall health, behavior, and upkeep,” read an official statement.

The members of the committee will include the Principal Secretary (Forests), Madhya Pradesh – Member, Principal Secretary (Tourism), Madhya Pradesh – Member, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, Madhya Pradesh – Member, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden.

Retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Madhya Pradesh – Member, Alok Kumar, Dr Amit Mallick, Inspector General, NTCA, New Delhi – Member. Dr. Vishnu Priya, Scientist, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun – Member, Abhilash Khandekar, Member MP SBWL, Bhopal, Subhoranjan Sen, APCCF- Wildlife – Member Convener are also part of the committee.

The committee’s officials will also monitor the hunting skills and adaptations of these Cheetahs.

“Monitor release of Cheetah, the opening of the Cheetah habitat for eco-tourism. Suggest and advice on the development of tourism infrastructure in fringe areas, regularly interact with Cheetah Mitras….,” added the statement.

Earlier on September 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that based on the recommendation of the task force set up to observe cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, it will be decided when people will be able to see the animals.

“Friends, a task force has been formed. This task force will monitor the cheetahs and see how much they have been able to adapt to the environment here. On this basis, a decision will be taken after a few months and then you will be able to see the cheetahs,” said PM Modi in the 93rd episode of his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

He exclaimed that people from all corners of the country have expressed happiness over the return of cheetahs to India.

“130 crore Indians are happy, full of pride; this is India’s love for nature,” PM stated.

Modi further stated that a common question was posed by people when will they get an opportunity to see the wild animals from Namibia?

PM Modi invited ideas from the people about what should be the names of the campaign and the cheetahs.

He further said, “But till then I am assigning some work to all of you. For this, a competition will be organized on the MyGov platform, in which I urge people to share certain things. What should be the name of the campaign we are running on cheetahs? Can we even think of naming all these cheetahs…. by what name should each of them be called? By the way, if this naming is of traditional nature, then it will be very nice since, anything related to our society and culture, tradition, and heritage, draws us easily.”

PM Modi also said that climate change is a major threat to marine ecosystems and that the litter on beaches is disturbing.

“It becomes our responsibility to make serious and continuous efforts to tackle these challenges,” he said.

The cheetahs were declared extinct from India in 1952 but on September 17 this year, eight cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) were brought from Namibia under ‘Project Cheetah’ as part of the government’s efforts to revitalize and diversify the country’s wildlife and habitat. (ANI)