Cheetahs’ transformation supports corridor plan: NTCA

NEW DELHI: Two cheetahs from Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) have reportedly moved into Rajasthan’s Baran district, a move the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said on Sunday strengthens the strategic rationale for the proposed 17,000 sq km Kuno-Gandhi Sagar inter-state wildlife corridor, which spans seven districts and eight MP wards of Rajasthan.Calling the inter-state campaign a success story for the cheetah program in India, NTCA said it has been actively coordinating with the state forest department and the cheetahs are being monitored by 24×7 GPS and radio collars by the inter-state team.Sharing the latest information on the movement of cheetahs KP-2 and KP-3, the authorities said that KP-2 was tracked in the Mangrol range of Baran, while KP-3 entered the Banjh Amli sanctuary after 60-70 km from KNP.“The two animals are located on both sides of the Parvati river at a distance of about 6 kilometers,” the report said, noting that field teams deployed from Kishanganj and Anta ranges have been continuously tracking them.“Long-distance dispersal across landscape boundaries is a well-documented natural territorial behavior of cheetahs. The Project Cheetah Action Plan clearly anticipates and regulates inter-country movement within the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar population landscape,” NTCA said in its report to the Ministry of Environment on cheetah movements.India currently has 48 cheetahs, including 28 Indian-born cubs. On February 28, nine adult cheetahs (6 females and 3 males) received from Botswana were released into KNP’s isolation pens. They are the third batch of cheetahs flown to India.