Fourth cheetah released into wild at Kuno National Park

Sheopur: One more African cheetah was moved out of an enclosure and released into the wild at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Thursday, an official said, taking the number of such big cats to four and allowing tourists to get a glimpse of them more than a year after their translocation.

The male cheetah, Pavan, brought from Namibia in September last year, was released in the KNP's Nayagaon area which falls under the Peepalbaodi tourist zone, he said.

Now, tourists visiting the KNP can get a glimpse of Pavan and three other cheetahs already released into the wild, the official said.

Earlier, all 15 surviving cheetahs (seven males, as many females and a cub) at the KNP were kept in bomas (enclosures) since August this year for monitoring of their health parameters by a team of veterinarians.

Six adult cheetahs and three cubs have died so far due to various reasons.

Female cheetah 'Veera' was released into the wild in the Nayagaon forest range on Wednesday (December 20), a release issued by the chief conservator of forest (tiger project) stated.

Before that, two male cheetahs - Agni and Vayu - were released in the Parond forest range, which falls under the Ahera tourism zone of the national park, on Sunday.

Under the Cheetah Reintroduction Project, eight felines (five females and three males) -- the fastest land animal -- were brought from Namibia on September 17, 2022, and kept in enclosures at the KNP.

In February this year, 12 more cheetahs arrived at the national park from South Africa. In March 2023, four cubs were born to a Namibian cheetah, Jwala, but three of them died in May.