Cheetahs moving towards UP, eastern MP: Officials

The cheetahs in Kuno National Park are travelling towards Uttar Pradesh and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh and not Rajasthan, according to the Cheetah Steering Committee. Officials said that as of now the cheetahs are showing interest in the eastern side of Panna landscape towards Lalitpur and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. (PTI) The committee’s head, Rajesh Gopal said that as of now the cheetahs are showing interest in the eastern side of Panna landscape towards Lalitpur and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. The committee held a coordination meeting with forest officers of MP and Uttar Pradesh on Friday and informed them about the preparation to be done if the cheetahs travel out of Kuno. “As many as two cheetahs came out of the park and both moved towards Shivpuri. Cheetah Pawan was following the Shivpuri-Jhansi-Lalitpur part of Panna Landscape. Cheetah Asha also moved there, so we can say cheetahs are coming out from eastern part only and moving towards UP,” said Gopal. A month ago, Cheetah Pawan moved about 300 km towards east and was tranquilised at Shivpuri near Uttar Pradesh border to bring him back to Kuno National Park. Similarly, another female cheetah, Asha is exploring south-eastern Madhya Pradesh and is now moving towards Chanderi in Ashok Nagar, officials said. Currently, eight cheetahs are roaming in the wild while 10 cheetahs, including a cub, are present in the enclosure. In the coming months, six more cheetahs will be released into the wild of Kuno National Park. Out of eight cheetahs, seven are confined to the national park. A senior forest officer of MP, requesting anonymity, said, “The cheetahs are following open land and less dense forest, and that’s why the committee felt that it can reach up to Rewa, about 550 km in east from KNP, through Panna Landscape.” “Now, cheetahs will be allowed to move freely, so we have asked the drict adminration and forest officers of possible dricts to get ready to welcome cheetahs. In the meeting, we basically informed them about do’s and don’t. They have been asked to make locals aware of cheetahs and to teach them how to face cheetahs. Similarly, the forest officers have been informed about basic steps they should take after spotting cheetahs,” said Gopal. MP forest department officials, who were requesting to release other cheetahs in a second home due to dearth of space in KNP, have now been asked to allow cheetahs to roam freely in any direction. “We were asked to remain alert about the movement of cheetahs. Now, we have to create awareness among villagers for the safety of cheetahs as decided the committee,” said an official of the MP forest department. Gopal said that if a cheetah moves toward Rajasthan, the committee will coordinate with their officials too. On September 17 last year, Prime Miner Narendra Modi released the first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at KNP, as part of an effort to revive the species’ population in India. Later, 12 cheetahs were brought to the national park from South Africa on February 18 this year. ABOUT THE AUTHOR She is a senior reporter based at Bhopal. She covers higher education, social issues, youth affairs, woman and child development related issues, sports and business & industries. …view detail