Cheetahs will be airlifted from Gwalior to Kuno to avoid the stress of road travel
The cheetahs will only be sedated and not tranquilised during the flight. Photo iStock Twelve cheetahs from South Africa will arrive in India and join the eight from Namibia in Kuno National Park of Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh (MP), on February 18, 2023.
A team of delegates is all set to fly to South Africa today (February 9) with officials from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
Read more: DTE Exclusive: As Pretoria and New Delhi dither, cheetahs gain weight; some to be swapped now
Officials of the MP forest department are all set to welcome the new batch and have created additional bomas (enclosures) for them. YV Jhala, the man behind the translocation, is there in Kuno, supervising the preparations and checking up on the eight cheetahs that came to India in September.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, MP, JS Chouhan, told Down To Earth:
Twelve cheetahs, seven males and five females, will be brought in a commercial aircraft from Windhoek to Gwalior, not unlike the one that brought the Namibian ones. They will then be airlifted from Gwalior to Kuno to avoid the stress of road travel to the big cats.
The cheetahs will only be sedated and not tranquilised during the flight. They do not need to be tranquilised as it also increases mortality risks, Chouhan said.
“A batch of animals has been under quarantine and ready to travel. A team from India will go to South Africa, choose the animals to be brought and accompany them. In India, our enclosures to host the animals are ready,” Director of NTCA, SP Yadav, was quoted as saying to The Hindu.
Read more: Finally, pact to bring 12 cheetahs from South Africa signed
In the meanwhile, Sasha, who suffered renal failure in Kuno, is getting better. She is being sustained on fluids and liver function-enhancing liquids to detoxify her body for seven days. She is still in quarantine to ensure better care and observation.
“Her kidneys are partially working and is recovering and is doing much better than before. Though 100 per cent recovery is not possible, she is stable,” said Jhala.
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