Details. Cheetah 2 year old female Veera? Actually Asha cub born in India first generation Indian born found near Palpur village buffer, bullet wound in chest, 12 bore rifle.
Centre forms three member panel ADG Wildlife Bivash Ranjan, IG NTCA, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to coordinate with MP Forest Department, submit report in 15 days, examine security protocols, monitoring, protection.
Fragile existence The Union government launched ambitious Project Cheetah importance.
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Project Cheetah. 20 cheetahs translocated from Namibia 8 and South Africa 12 in 2022 to 23, cost Rs 91 crore, now population 24 including 12 cubs born in India, 8 deaths so far, 2023 3 due to septicemia from radio collar infection, 1 infighting, 2 relocation stress, 1 now gunshot first.
Kuno 748 sq km, prey base low, chital density 2 per sq km versus needed 10 per African standards, cheetahs stray outside, conflict with herders, goats killed, compensation Rs 25,000 per goat but delay 6 months.
Village Palpur 5,000 people relocated 2009 for lion project but lion never came, resentment.
Security. Radio collar VHF battery fails after 1 year, tracking by foot, 15 trackers for 24 cheetahs insufficient, night tracking none.
Poaching. MP is poaching hub, tiger poaching Pench, Satpura, arms 12 bore guns common for crop protection, farmers shoot leopards thinking crop raiders
Self defence claim. MP Forest Department says farmer shot thinking leopard attacking goat but cheetah diurnal, leopard nocturnal, mistake possible? Need ballistic test, forensic.
Supreme Court asked Centre to consider alternative sites Banni grassland Gujarat 2,000 sq km, Mukundra Hills Rajasthan 400 sq km, Gandhi Sagar, Kuno carrying capacity 21 cheetahs already exceeds.
Need community involvement. Kuno Mitra 100 local youth employed as trackers but salary Rs 8,000, no insurance.
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Centre panel terms examine security protocols, monitoring, protection, implementation of SOPs like Cheetah Task Force, daily monitoring.
For India, cheetah extinct 1952 Maharaja of Surguja shot last, reintroduction experiment watched globally, IUCN says relocation success less than 50 percent if prey low, South Africa withdrew 2024 proposal due to deaths.
Need to increase prey, relocate 500 chital from Pench, create buffer.
Tags: #Kuno #CheetahDeath #MP #ProjectCheetah #Poaching #NTCA #WildlifeCrime #BivashRanjan #PreyBase #Conservation