Sheopur/New Delhi. The only leopard roaming freely in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park has died. However, officials say that the death was due to drowning. Wildlife activists suspect that it has been hunted, although no external injury marks have been found on this leopard Pawan brought from Namibia. The body of the leopard was found on the banks of a flowing drain among the bushes at around 10:30 am on Tuesday. According to a statement, veterinarians were informed and on close examination it was found that the front half of the leopard’s body was submerged in water. No external injury was seen anywhere on its body.
According to the statement, “The initial cause of death appears to be drowning. Detailed information will be given after the post-mortem report comes.” The incident has happened at a time when India is accelerating efforts to bring a new batch of cheetahs by the end of this year. An official of the National Tiger Conservation Authority told PTI-Bhasha on Tuesday, “We are actively talking to South Africa on this matter. A delegation will come here in late September or early October.”
The official said, “We have informed South Africa that we want to accelerate efforts to bring another batch of cheetahs by the end of the year as per the recommendation and action plan of the Cheetah Project Steering Committee.” PTI-Bhasha has learned that talks are also going on with Kenya and a memorandum of understanding is being finalized. After Pawan’s death, there are 24 cheetahs left in KNP, including 12 adults and the same number of cubs.
Some of the 20 cheetahs brought to India so far – eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023 – were initially released in the wild but were returned to enclosures after three died of septicaemia by August 13 last year. Only Pawan survived in the wild. He was released in the wild on March 11, 2023 but was brought back to the enclosure on April 22. He was released again on July 2, 2023.
Kuno faces challenges of hunting and leopards; Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary is not ready for leopards yet
Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, which became the first home to imported cheetahs in India, is struggling with an overpopulation of leopards and a shortage of prey animals, and both these challenges have delayed preparations at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, which will be the second home for the cheetahs. Minutes of the meetings of the Centre’s ‘Cheetah Project Steering Committee’ (Cheetah Project Steering Committee) show that the increase in prey and management of leopards are the major challenges facing the ambitious initiative to increase the cheetah population in India in September 2022.
Decrease in prey is one of the reasons why the remaining cheetahs have had to spend more time in enclosures in Kuno after they were brought from the wild in August last year, following the death of three cheetahs due to septicaemia. As an interim solution, authorities are increasing the number of prey in both Kuno and Gandhi Sagar. The high number of leopards in both areas has also led to the leopard translocation drive. According to experts, the presence of predators like leopards and lions poses a threat to the cheetahs.
However, the committee members have repeatedly stressed the importance of “increasing prey in the original habitat” and said that “active prey enhancement through translocation cannot continue indefinitely.” Mandsaur divisional forest officer Sanjay Raikhere said in a meeting on June 18 that there were 24 leopards in the 64 sq km enclosure being prepared for the new batch of leopards in the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. According to sources, 15 leopards have been translocated from there so far.
Sources told PTI that the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary is “not 100 per cent ready” for cheetahs due to the number of leopards and hunting challenges. “We are working on creating a leopard-free enclosure. We also need to improve the prey population inside and outside the enclosure,” a source said. The Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary is spread over an area of 368 sq km and has an additional area of 2,500 sq km around it.
According to the “Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetahs to Gandhi Sagar”, five to eight cheetahs will be released in a predator-free fenced area of 64 sq km in the first phase, focusing on breeding. The long-term aim of the project is to have a population of 60-70 cheetahs in Kuno-Gandhi Sagar. Cheetahs, known for their exceptional speed and agility, hunt primarily in open habitats. In contrast, leopards are adapted to hunting in a variety of habitats and have a varied diet. As a result, cheetahs avoid direct confrontations with leopards by choosing habitats and times when leopards are less active.
Records obtained by PTI through a Right to Information (RTI) application show that the committee members have expressed serious concerns about poaching and leopard-related challenges in almost every meeting held so far. Steering committee chairman Rajesh Gopal has stressed the need to find long-term solutions based on ecology and habitat to deal with the relative abundance of leopards.