PAWS FOR CELEBRATION AS BIG CATS MAKE A COMEBACK
Moulik Sarkar, project associate from the Wildlife Institute of India and Bart Balli from the Cheetah Conservation Foundation track cheetah.
Another major challenge encountered in India was the ‘winter coat’ issue. African cheetahs develop a winter coat between May and August to help them deal with colder conditions. India is located in the northern hemisphere, and these winter coats appeared just in time for the hot and humid monsoon rains. A combination of moisture on the thicker coats and high parasite loads resulted in skin infections (dermatitis), followed by fly strike (myiasis) which compromised the integrity of the skin. These infections spread across the backs of the founder cheetahs, leading to blood poisoning and four mortalities due to septicaemia. “It was a massive blow to the project, but we believe that cheetahs will adapt to the photoperiod of the northern hemisphere with time. In the interim, we will monitor them closely and treat the infection where required,” said van der Merwe. The project has faced scrutiny regarding the decision to introduce African cheetahs to India instead of focusing on the native Asiatic cheetah, which many argue would have been more suitable. However, the stark reality is that only 20 wild Asiatic cheetahs remain, all in Iran. “Any removal from this critically endangered population could be detrimental to its long-term persistence,” explained van der Merwe. Political challenges also make such moves difficult. Van der Merwe says previous efforts to swap Indian lions for Iranian cheetahs in the 1970s failed.
residing in Kuno include seven adult females and six males among the original founders from Namibia and South Africa. Three litters were born to two Namibian females, adding eight more cubs to the population. The cubs will not stay in the reserve once they can hunt. Van der Merwe says cubs born at Kuno are likely to go to other protected areas to prevent inbreeding. Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, India’s first fully fenced protected area, will be a second reintroduction site. “Other protected areas are also being prepared for cheetah reintroduction in the state of Gujarat,” he explained. Further genetic supplementation from South Africa will also be necessary over the long term. “Ultimately, many decades from now, a place like Kuno National Park will constitute a special wildlife destination when they reintroduce all the historically occurring predators,” says van der Merwe. As part of the reintroduction process, hotels and lodges are emerging on the fringes of the reintroduction sites, as private individuals identify tourism opportunities associated with the return of an iconic predator. With patience and coordinated efforts, Project Cheetah continues running wild with the vision of vibrant Indian forests teeming once more with all their former majestic inhabitants.
Mom and one of her cheetah cubs. Credit: Kuno National Park
I ndia recently celebrated an important milestone in its cheetah reintroduction efforts with the birth of five cubs to South African female cheetah Gamini in March at Kuno National Park. This litter increases the number of cheetah cubs born on Indian soil to 13. The birth of these five cubs marks the fourth successful cheetah birth since Project Cheetah began relocating the big cats from Africa to India as part of reintroduction efforts. Once an integral part of India’s ecosystem, the cheetah faced local extinction approximately 70 years ago, succumbing to the pressures of habitat degradation, removal of cubs from the wild for use as pets and hunting by the Indian elite, and relentless hunting driven by the demand for their coveted coats. Situated in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh, the unfenced Kuno covers a core conservation area of 748 square kilometres, similar to
South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve. Complementing this is an expansive buffer zone spanning 487 square kilometres, expanding Kuno’s protected territory to over 1 235 square kilometres. Within this buffer zone, livestock are free to graze and browse, which has led to challenges. “Never in recorded history have wild cheetahs been successfully reintroduced into an unfenced protected area. The reintroduced cheetahs have perpetually escaped the boundaries of Kuno, moving away from potential breeding partners and natural prey populations within the park,” said Vincent van der Merwe, director of the Cheetah Metapopulation Initiative who formed part of Project Cheetah. The escapees also led to incidents where the cheetah killed livestock, but authorities responded quickly, recaptured the escaping cheetahs, and reimbursed the affected farmers for their losses.
Written by René Laing
While the newly born cubs’ sexes are still unknown, the 26 cheetahs currently
Cheetah at home in the Kuno National Park
Kuno National Park, Madya Pradesh INDIA
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