Bhopal: An official team from Botswana is scheduled to visit Kuno National Park (KNP) and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS) in Madhya Pradesh ahead of translocation of a fresh batch of eight cheetahs from the African nation, a senior forest officer said on Monday.
The expert team is expected in a couple of weeks although the date of their visit to the two wildlife sanctuaries, the only cheetah habitats in Madhya Pradesh, is yet to be finalized.
“The date of scheduled visit of the team from Botswana is yet to be intimated to us”, field director of the KNP Uttam Kumar Sharma told this newspaper.
A senior forest officer however disclosed to this newspaper on condition of anonymity that eight cheetahs, proposed to be shifted to the KNP in Sheopur district and the GSWS in Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh from Botswana, have already been identified and quarantined in the forests in the African country.
The translocation process will begin after the quarantine period is over, the forest officer said.
While the KNP, the first home of African cheetahs in the country, houses 27 cheetahs including 16 cubs, the GSWS has three cheetahs, shifted from Kuno recently.
The fresh batch of eight cheetahs may land in Kuno and Gandhi Sagar by December this year, official sources said.
In another development, a South African team of experts visited the KNP and the GSWS last week to study the cheetah introduction project.
The South African team was very much impressed with the conservation of cheetahs in Kuno National Park and were amazed to notice certain developments such as healthy co-habitation between the cheetahs and the people living in the fringes of the KNP, a senior forest officer said.
“They were surprised to learn that the cheetahs have frequently strayed to human habitations and developed harmonious relations with the local people”, Mr. Sharma said.
