New Delhi: The Union Environment Ministry on Monday said that five more cheetahs will be released from the acclimatization camps in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) before the onset of monsoon in June. There are three females and two males among them. The ministry said the decision was taken after a team of experts “reviewed the current status of Project Cheetah” on the instructions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Five more cheetahs (three females and two males) will be released from acclimatization camps into the KNP in a free-ranging condition before the onset of monsoon rains in June, the ministry said in a statement.” It said cheetahs would be allowed out of the KNP and would not be brought back “unless they enter areas where they are at risk”.
According to the statement, the cheetahs have been selected by the monitoring teams for free-roaming on the basis of their practical characteristics and accessibility. So far, four of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia have been released into free-ranging conditions from fenced acclimatization camps in the KNP. According to the statement, the two male leopards (Gaurav and Shaurya) have stayed within the park and have shown no interest in exploring the territory beyond its boundaries.
