'Actual work begins now': Wildlife Institute of India Dean talks about cheetahs

Cheetahs were released in the Kuno National Park on September 17

The Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has become home to eight cheetahs brought from Namibia. These cheetahs were released in the national park on September 17. According to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dean Prof Y V Jhala, bringing cheetahs to India is "is just the beginning" and that the "actual work begins now."

According to Jhala, building a prey base for the cheetahs and restricting poaching are the two main challenges in front of forest officials.

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As these big cats have been brought from another country, special arrangements are needed to make them familiar with India’s atmosphere. Talking about the habitation of these big cats, Jhala told The Indian Express: “The eight cheetahs will be in different bomas (temporary quarantine enclosures to monitor their health) over the next month. They have been housed according to their social units, so a pair of brothers have been housed in one boma and a pair of sisters in another; the others have been put in individual bomas.”

These animals will be monitored for capture myopathy, a disease which occurs among wild animals that experience stress and physical exertion due to transportation, said Jhala.