Madhya Pradesh: Cheetah Introduction Leads To Appearance Of 3 Species In Kuno, For First Time
"Forest owlets have never been sighted in the Kuno-Palpur landscape under the Kuno wildlife sanctuary": Field Director, Cheetah Project, Uttam Kumar Sharma
BHOPAL: The introduction of the cheetah in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has led to the appearance of three species, for the first time, in the wildlife sanctuary.
The three species which were sighted for the first time in the Kuno National Park are forest owlet, wild dog and Indian wolf.
The appearance of the three endangered species in the Kuno National Park is attributed to vast improvement of habitat and vegetation in the wildlife sanctuary after the launch of the cheetah project.
“There is a vast improvement of habitat and vegetation in the Kuno National Park after the cheetah project was launched in the wildlife sanctuary in September 2022. This led to the sighting of three species, forest owlet, wild dog and Indian wolf, for the first time in the wildlife sanctuary”, Field Director, Cheetah Project, Uttam Kumar Sharma told this newspaper on Friday.
According to him, a pair of forest owlets were sighted and photographed in December last year in the national park.
“Forest owlets have never been sighted in the Kuno-Palpur landscape under the Kuno wildlife sanctuary. The endangered avian species is usually seen in Maharashtra- Madhya Pradesh border and not beyond the region”, he said.
Similarly, one wild dog was spotted and photographed in the national park this year.
Wild dogs usually live in packs, but only one wild dog has so far been sighted in the national park, he said and added that the forest officials are looking for the pack in the sanctuary.
The wild animal was never spotted in the national park earlier, he said.
The rare sighting of an Indian wolf in the Kuno National Park last month has come as a pleasant surprise for the forest officials of the wildlife sanctuary.
The endangered species was not known to have been sighted in the Kuno-Palpur landscape under wildlife sanctuary in the last four years.
Like Cheetah, the three species also thrive in grasslands and savanna like woodlands.
The cheetah reintroduction project was conceived in 2009 by the Government of India.
The project got off the ground in September 2022 when eight cheetahs from Namibia were translocated to the Kuno National Park.
Twelve more cheetahs were shifted to the national park from South Africa six months later in February 2023.
In February this year, nine more cheetahs were brought to the national park from Botswana.
India currently has a cheetah population of 53 including 33 cubs.
While Kuno has a population of 50 cheetahs, Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh houses three cheetahs, shifted from Kuno a year ago.
Union forest, environment and climate change minister Bhupendra Yadav while addressing the International Big Cat Alliance pre-summit here on Friday described the cheetah project in India is the most successful wildlife conservation which has no parallel in the world.
