After being called a tiger and leopard state, Madhya Pradesh is all set to become a Cheetah state.
Following the successful adaptation of eight cheetahs which were brought from Namibia last year, the state is all set to welcome the second lot of 'Big Cats'.
As many as twelve cheetahs including five females are being brought from South Africa, and will be released in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on February 18, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) J S Chouhan.
"Of these cheetahs, nine cheetahs are being brought from South Africa's Rooiberg and three cheetahs from Thinda," Chouhan pointed out.
Giving information about the arrangements for newly arriving Cheetahs, Chouhan said, "We have completed all the preparations. We have prepared a sufficient quarantine zone. This time the quarantine enclosures have been built a little far away from the last time. Two old quarantine enclosures are also being used and we have sanitised them. The remaining new enclosures have also been inspected multiple times."
"The Cheetahs will fly from South Africa to India on February 17. They will reach here in Gwalior and then like last time they will be brought here at Kuno Park in the helicopter of the Air Force," he added.
When asked about the conditions of the previous eight cheetahs, which were brought from Namibia and released here on September 17, 2022, PCCF Chouhan said, "They are in very good conditions and living in big enclosures. They are living the normal lifestyle of cheetahs, hunting and eating well. No Cheetahs suffered any disease except one cheetah. It got slightly sick and is now on the path of recovery. Hopefully, it will be ready to live in big enclosures in the coming two weeks."
When asked about when the common people can take glimpses of these cheetahs, he said that it was difficult to say for the time being. The same old protocol would be followed with these Cheetahs. They would be in a minimum one-month quarantine period after that they would be released to the acclimatization enclosure in which Namibian Cheetahs were there. After that, a task force constituted by the Government of India would examine the situation and they would take appropriate decisions about it.
Speaking about the weather conditions for the Cheetahs, Chouhan added that these things were considered earlier when the action plan was being prepared.
"South Africa and India have similar climate conditions for Cheetah. Experts also consider that no such issue will happen here. South African experts have visited here in every season and they think no problem will occur for cheetahs here," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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