The ‘Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India’ talks about bringing around 12-14 cheetahs each year from South Africa, Namibia and other African countries for five years to establish a founder stock.”The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) process is in progress. India has finalised its part, and the Kenyan government needs to approve it. After that, both governments will sign the MoU,” Yadav, who is the adviser to the Centre’s Cheetah Project Steering Committee, said.”Discussions are ongoing with South Africa. It has already identified 12 to 16 surplus cheetahs. They must either give them to another country or euthanise them. That is the current situation,” Yadav added.In South Africa, animals are kept in sanctuaries based on their carrying capacities.If the population exceeds this capacity, they either export the animals or euthanise them, as they cannot sustain an overpopulation, he explained.Yadav said cheetahs for the conservation breeding centre being established in Bunni will also be brought from Kenya and that “winter is the ideal time to bring them”.The conservation breeding centre being developed in a 500-hectare enclosure can accommodate 16 cheetahs, officials have said.Yadav also dismissed reports suggesting that a Namibian cheetah named Pawan died from poisoning last month.He clarified that there were no signs of poisoning such as saliva oozing from the mouth or liquid seeping from the nose.”There was no such thing. It is purely speculation,” he said.Asked if cheetahs can drown, he said that it had rained heavily that night and there are nallahs (streams) with boulders and rocks.”We do not know what happened, but the symptoms suggest that the cheetah died from drowning. There was no other reason. There were no marks on the body. Two doctors conducted the post-mortem and confirmed drowning. There was water in the lungs. It was unfortunate,” Yadav added.Asked about the low prey base in the Kuno National Park and the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, he said, “The number of cheetahs in the wild will depend solely on the prey population. We will not release more cheetahs if the prey population cannot support them.That is within our control.” Yadav said that the staff at Kuno will administer prophylactic medicine to the cheetahs in the wild through tranquilisers.If they are unsuccessful, “there is no option but to recapture the animals”, he said.Prophylactic medicines are given to prevent infections.
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