Kuno Officials To Host Meeting On Cheetah Security With Rajasthan & UP Forest Officers Ahead Of Potential Wild Release

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): On behalf of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the officials of Kuno National Park in Sheopur are scheduled to hold a meeting with forest officers from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and a few districts of the state to sensitize them about the security and care of cheetahs.

The meeting is scheduled to be held on September 29-30. It is widely believed that whenever the cheetahs are released into the wild they might enter districts like Morena, Gwalior, Shivpuri and Ashok Nagar or even wander to the bordering districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In such a situation, the cheetah would need a proper protection cover.

And for the same, the forest officials of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and a few districts of MP will be sensitized towards the security of cheetahs during the scheduled meeting. A senior officer of Kuno said that there are at least six to seven districts of Rajasthan which fall in the landscape of cheetah movement. Likewise, cheetahs may also venture into areas of Lalitpur and Jhansi districts of UP.

The forest officials will also be asked to create public awareness towards the behavior of cheetahs and make people understand that Cheetahs do not attack human beings. The Chief Wildlife Warden of Rajasthan is likely to attend the meeting. The forest officials up to the rank of district forest officers are also going to turn up to the meeting.

Discussion over releasing Cheetahs into wild

As the monsoon is in its last leg, the discussions are underway in Kuno National Park about the possibility of soft release of Cheetahs into the open range. The Cheetah Steering Committee will have final say over the matter. Currently, no cheetah is in the open range.

Twelve adult cheetahs are inside the enclosures and waiting for release into the jungle. Apart from them, twelve cubs are also there. ‘Pawan’ was the last cheetah to have been released into the wild and it died due to drowning in flooded nullah last month. Currently there is no open range cheetah in Kuno.