Leopard inhabitants poses hazard to African cheetahs in Kuno National Park

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Even because the eight Namibian cheetahs launched into the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 are regularly acclimatising to their new environment, state wildlife officers are “concerned” in regards to the hazard they could face from the massive leopard inhabitants as soon as they lastly discover their manner into the wild a couple of months from now.

Speaking to this newspaper, Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) J S Chauhan mentioned, “We are preparing ourselves for kinds of challenges ahead, including the danger the cheetahs might face from about 98 leopards. That is the concern”. At least 25 leopards had been faraway from the realm the cheetahs will occupy within the first six months and radio-collared for subsequent remark.

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) researchers – 9 of them have been repeatedly observing the cheetahs since they had been launched into the quarantine zones — are additionally conscious of potential leopard-cheetah conflicts within the close to future. According to the WII, the leopard inhabitants density at KNP is 9 people per 100 sq km.

One WII researcher mentioned that intensified remark of the cheetahs will start as soon as they’re moved to the bigger, 5-sq-km enclosure. “In the first four to five days, the cheetahs did exhibit aggression whenever vehicles or people went past their enclosures, but they have begun to adapt even in rainy conditions,” the researcher mentioned.

Chauhan admitted that the cheetahs are “eating less” than typical within the first few days of their arrival at KNP however they’ll “stabilise soon”. The quickest land animals are being “served dressed buffalo meat twice in four to five days” with every cheetah “consuming an average of 1.5 to 2 kg buffalo meat per day”.

Around the center of August, the cheetahs can be moved to the 5-sq-km zone with 9 compartments. Chauhan mentioned that two pairs of feminine and male cheetahs can be “put together” in a single massive enclosure whereas the remainder can be in single enclosures. “Depending on their comfort levels, they will be in these enclosures for two to four months before they are allowed to roam free in the 748 sq km expanse of KNP,” Chauhan mentioned.

NEW DELHI: Even because the eight Namibian cheetahs launched into the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 are regularly acclimatising to their new environment, state wildlife officers are “concerned” in regards to the hazard they could face from the massive leopard inhabitants as soon as they lastly discover their manner into the wild a couple of months from now.

Speaking to this newspaper, Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) J S Chauhan mentioned, “We are preparing ourselves for kinds of challenges ahead, including the danger the cheetahs might face from about 98 leopards. That is the concern”. At least 25 leopards had been faraway from the realm the cheetahs will occupy within the first six months and radio-collared for subsequent remark.

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) researchers – 9 of them have been repeatedly observing the cheetahs since they had been launched into the quarantine zones — are additionally conscious of potential leopard-cheetah conflicts within the close to future. According to the WII, the leopard inhabitants density at KNP is 9 people per 100 sq km.

One WII researcher mentioned that intensified remark of the cheetahs will start as soon as they’re moved to the bigger, 5-sq-km enclosure. “In the first four to five days, the cheetahs did exhibit aggression whenever vehicles or people went past their enclosures, but they have begun to adapt even in rainy conditions,” the researcher mentioned.

Chauhan admitted that the cheetahs are “eating less” than typical within the first few days of their arrival at KNP however they’ll “stabilise soon”. The quickest land animals are being “served dressed buffalo meat twice in four to five days” with every cheetah “consuming an average of 1.5 to 2 kg buffalo meat per day”.

Around the center of August, the cheetahs can be moved to the 5-sq-km zone with 9 compartments. Chauhan mentioned that two pairs of feminine and male cheetahs can be “put together” in a single massive enclosure whereas the remainder can be in single enclosures. “Depending on their comfort levels, they will be in these enclosures for two to four months before they are allowed to roam free in the 748 sq km expanse of KNP,” Chauhan mentioned.