MP Fallout of KNG22 Killing: 5-Layer Security in Cheetah Landscape Mulled
Forest officials are planning a five-layer security system for cheetahs moving between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after Kuno cheetah KNG22 was killed by gunshots.
A five-layer-security is being planned for the safety of cheetahs during their movement in the ‘Cheetah Landscape’, extending from Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan, in the wake of the killing of KNG22 associated with the Kuno National Park in the state, a senior forest officer said on Sunday.
The Cheetah Landscape runs through the Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
“A tight security mechanism is being developed by the experts of both the Union and Madhya Pradesh governments for the protection of cheetahs in the Cheetah Landscape. A five-layer security is proposed to be thrown around the cheetahs moving in the Cheetah Landscape”, the forest officer said, unwilling to be quoted.
The death of 19-month-old male cheetah KNG22 of Kuno due to gun wounds suffered in the Pahargarh area of the Morena Territorial Forest Division in the Gwalior-Chambal region has prompted the forest officers associated with the Project Cheetah to review security for them, sources said.
“The security experts of the Centre and the state government are working out on the plan”, the forest officer said.
Meanwhile, Director of Project Cheetah Uttam Kumar Sharma said that the technology employed for monitoring the movement of the cheetahs, fitted with satellite-collars, cannot monitor them round-the-clock.
“Satellite-collars are programmed to transmit location signals at predetermined intervals, depending on the management objectives and the technical specifications of the device. The interval may range from as short as ten minutes to several hours, sometimes even extending up to 12 hours”, he said, while countering charges of lapses in monitoring KNG22 when it was wounded by gunshots, leading to its death, leveled by wildlife activists.
This apart, satellite collars are expensive, generally costing around Rs four- five lakhs each.
Therefore, deciding the frequency of transmission involves a careful balance between monitoring requirements, battery life and the expected duration of the collar use.
A temporary loss of satellite signal also is not an unusual occurrence. It can happen for several reasons.
In case of cheetahs of Kuno, a six-hour transmission interval for satellite-collared cheetahs is generally used to maintain a reasonable balance between obtaining location information and ensuring that the battery lasts sufficiently long, he said.