Kuno National Park: 5 More Cheetahs To Be Released Into Free-roaming Conditions Before Monsoon

Five cheetahs — three females and two males — will be released from the acclimatisation camps into free-ranging conditions in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) before the onset of the monsoon in June, the Union Environment Ministry said on Monday.

It also said the cheetahs will be allowed to move out of KNP and will not necessarily be “recaptured unless they venture into areas where they are in significant danger”.

So far, four of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia have been released from the fenced acclimatisation camps into free-ranging conditions in KNP.

“Five more cheetahs (three females and two males) will be released from the acclimatisation camps into free-roaming conditions in KNP before the onset of the monsoon rains in June,” it said in a statement.

The decision was taken after a team of experts reviewed the current status of the “Project Cheetah” on the directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

They expert team said all the cheetahs were in good physical condition, making kills at regular intervals and displaying natural behaviours.

Cheetahs were chosen for release based on their behavioural characteristics and approachability by the monitoring teams.