The Government of India envisions the combined areas of the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh and the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan as “forming the larger cheetah metapopulation landscape under the umbrella of Project cheetah in the long term (within the next 25 years)”, a report released by the Centre to mark two years of Project Cheetah has stated.

This would effectively serve towards the goal of establishing the first viable cheetah metapopulation in India, Bringing back the cheetah to India: Annual Progress Report 2023-24 said.

The document added that cheetahs would be allowed to be populated in the larger landscape only after securing the potential habitats sufficiently restored in the area, necessary prey base such as medium sized ungulates adequately enhanced and risks to both cheetahs and prey survival are minimised.

But the immediate goals are to establish cheetah populations first inside the Protected Areas (KNP and Gandhi Sagar WLS) and simultaneous restoration efforts at landscape level.

“One of the long-term goals of Project Cheetah is to establish a metapopulation of cheetahs in the interstate Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape of 60-70 individuals after restorative measures, prey availability and scientific management are effectively in place,” the report noted.

Securing Kuno

The report stated that “the endeavour to establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India has achieved a few milestones such as addition of 12 cubs to the founder stock in Kuno”.

However, given that natural mortalities of a few cheetahs had occurred during the last one year, annual supplementation of cheetahs from source countries would be required.

The current population of chital or spotted deer is not enough to sustain the current large carnivore population for very long in Kuno due to the high concentration of leopards in KNP.

Thus, immediate augmentation as well as captive breeding of chital and blackbuck in predator proof enclosures at multiple locations inside Kuno NP is required, as per the report.

Meanwhile, the landscape outside the KNP will also be prepared for the cheetahs.

“The area outside Kuno NP in Kuno Wildlife Division covering an area of 1235 km2 has to be prioritized for habitat management and protection to allow recovery of prey and habitat within the next three to five years. The landscape outside Kuno has contiguous forested habitat spanning an area of about 6800 km² wherein an area of over 3200 km² has high potential for cheetah occupancy,” the report read.

This contiguous forest habitat, extending up to Gandhi Sagar WLS, has to be managed over a period of 10 years for habitat and prey recovery expanding outwards from Kuno Wildlife Division parallelly in multiple sites in phases.

The Centre also envisions bringing this area under a unified administrative, legal, financial and management framework.

Gandhi Sagar, the next frontier

“As part of metapopulation management of cheetahs, preparation of Gandhi Sagar WLS as the next site for release of cheetahs is underway and expected to receive animals as soon as adequate requirements of infrastructure and prey are completed,” the document noted.

In the next five years, a maximum of four to five cheetahs can be released into a fenced area at Gandhi Sagar WLS, providing them an opportunity to establish a breeding population.

Ungulate prey including chinkara or the Indian gazelle will be augmented and bred in captivity in a process similar to KNP.

“The habitat around the fenced area in the PA and the surrounding areas is being restored in phases and subsequently, after ecological restoration and prey recovery, cheetahs will be released into free-ranging conditions in Gandhi Sagar landscape,” said the report.

The document added that the landscape outside Gandhi Sagar had “immense potential” as cheetah habitat

Securing and managing the ‘interstate cheetah conservation complex’ “will require strong political will and the proficient government machinery” so that interstate cooperation to manage large landscapes can be ensured, according to the report.

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