Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the death of some of the cheetahs brought to Kuno National Park under the Cheetah Rehabilitation Project is a matter of concern.
For their health and care, the Cheetah Task Force constituted by the central government should be provided all possible cooperation from the state government. Availability of all necessary medicines and equipment including adequate wildlife doctors should be ensured in the area, he said.
Along with this, there should be a system for regular review of the condition of cheetahs. If necessary, the number of forest guards and the area available for the rehabilitation project should be increased, Chouhan instructed the officials.
Chief Minister Chouhan was addressing the review meeting of Cheetah Rehabilitation Project at Mantralaya. Forest Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah joined virtually. Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains, Additional Chief Secretary Forest J.N. Kansotiya and officials of Forest Department were present.
It may be noted that the implementation of the Cheetah project is done according to the decisions of the Cheetah Task Force constituted by the central government. A total of 20 cheetahs were brought to Kuno National Park, 8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa. Presently 10 cheetahs are roaming in the open forest and 5 cheetahs are kept in enclosures. All the cheetahs are being monitored 24 x 7. A research team from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun is present at Palpur full time for the implementation of the project.
