Ajay Suri
Cheetahs in Kuno, Madhya Pradesh, which were brought here from Africa, are destined to make India their new home. A few will inevitably die or fall prey to unforeseen events, but the cheetah relocation programme will be a thumping success, said Rajesh Gopal, Chairman of the 11-member Steering Committee formed by the Central Government to oversee the ambitious project. In a detailed interview with Blitz India, he gave several reasons for his optimism. Dr Gopal knows the weight of his words as for many years, as Director of Project Tiger, he worked hard to build a healthy tiger population in the country. The top expert also believes that not much should be seen in the recent deaths of some cheetahs in Kuno. Life and death, he says, are the facts of life and no living creatures can escape such eventualities. The following is the text of the interview:
Blitz India: Despite many wildlife experts expressing apprehension about the success of cheetahs’ relocation in India, you seem to be quite confident about it. Why? Rajesh Gopal: That’s because facts support us. Barring a brief blip since early 50s, when the last cheetah in India was shot dead, these magnificent big cats have been living in India for close to 1,000 years. Our country has always been a home to cheetahs. Those who say India is unfit for cheetahs don’t know the historical reality.
BI: But even some South African cheetah experts are casting doubts over the way cheetahs are being held in Kuno, with no fencing around the sanctuary? They say cheetahs in Africa survive because all the national parks and reserves there are fenced.
RG: Africa and India are not just two separate geographical locations, even the way the wildlife behaves are different from each other. The human interface and population dynamics of two places is poles apart. In a sparsely populated Africa, it makes sense to have clear boundaries between the game reserves and human populations. This is not the case here.
In India, wildlife and humans often exist side by side-and this they have been doing for hundreds of years. That’s why wildlife management in India is very different from Africa and many other countries. As a Project Tiger Director, I had seen the virtual co-existence between humans and wild animals such as tigers, leopards and elephants from close quarters. We have successfully managed tigers. We will manage cheetahs too.
BI: How long will it take for the cheetahs to accept Kuno as their permanent abode?
RG: One should not expect immediate results. For one, the very landscape as well as prey animals found in Africa is quite different from India. Here, the cheetahs will have to confront and win over all kind of new challenges. We are mindful of that. Secondly, many animals and birds have what you call site fidelity, or in simple terms homing instinct. This instinct makes them go back to their original homes. This behaviour is often seen in domestic cats and lot of migratory birds, who fly for thousands of kilometres during winter but go back to their starting point after some time.
Cheetahs in Kuno may also get impacted by this phenomenon. But they will eventually overcome it. Our sense is that it will take quite a few years, maybe more than 10, when the cheetahs finally find themselves comfortable in India. Till then, we will have to follow all the necessary protocols towards their safety and well-being in Kuno.
BI: Of late, there has been some talk about a cheetah in Kuno dying due to its radio collar? Is it so, and if yes, how would you cope with the situation?
RG: Yes, we are looking into this. It’s quite possible that the collar on the cheetah’s neck created a wound leading to its death. We are awating the lab report. In case this turns out to be the reasons, we will certainly take all possible corrective measures.
BI: There are reports which say that Kuno cannot hold more then 10-15 cheetahs?
RG: This is not at all true. The Kuno landscape is much bigger than the present Kuno national park (with an area of 750 square kilometres). In fact the uninterrupted Kuno landscape, which includes Shivpuri, Greater Shivpuri and Greater Kuno, will have 6,000 square kilometres of land. This, I believe, will be more than sufficient for the cheetahs to procreate and flourish in the region.
At the same time, I realise there will be naysayers to the whole cheetah relocation project. We don’t mind the criticism, as long as it’s backed by scientific facts and data. And we are always open to constructive suggestions.
