ગુજરાતી
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DILIP PATEL
Ahmedabad, 20 September 2022
Another project to bring cheetah to India has been implemented during the time of Narendra Modi. But the way Modi brought a Cheetah to Gujarat in 2009 and died without breeding, will the same happen in Kuno?
After 70 years in India, Prime Minister Modi released Cheetah in Kuno National Park on his birthday. It is being said, but in 2009, Modi brought Modi to Gujarat. He died 4 Cheetah. Eight cheetahs from Namibia have set foot on Indian soil. In Kuno National Park, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the box and released three cheetahs into the quarantine enclosure.
100 crores can spend
The initial cost of the project is around Rs 40 crore. These expenses will increase with the arrival of the cheetah. There will be cost of monitoring, their maintenance and other costs. There is concern that 100 crores will be spent to increase the population.
Ruined in Gujarat
The last Cheetah at the Sakarbagh Zoo was in 1945 during the time of the Nawab. In 2009, the Singapore Zoo exchanged African cheetahs brought from the Sakarbagh Zoological Park. Not 70 years but after 63 years Cheetah came to India. Before them, the Cheetah had come to India. On 24 May 2009, 4 Cheetah were introduced to Junagadh Zoo in Gujarat. Was kept open for public viewing. Until 2011, the cheetah was in an open cage. Two male and two female cheetahs died due to such keeping of tourists. Couldn’t breed in two years. In exchange for three lions, 4 Cheetah were brought from Singapore. For which class-3 employees were sent abroad for special training.
All four cheetahs died within two years in 2011 at the age of 12. In such a situation, Narendra Modi may have brought the Cheetah, but the forest department is responsible for his death.
What happened in Kuno
Six helipads have been built here for the Prime Minister and other leaders. Helicopter aircraft of the Air Force were used to bring the cheetahs from Delhi. The Modi government believes that 8 Cheetah has been brought and in three-four years the number of these Cheetah will reach fifty.
Key fencing has also been prepared in an area of 500 hectares in Kuno National Park. Cheetahs will not be released in the open forest.
The staff has also been trained for monitoring. Deer have been settled so that the cheetah can get food. There are 15,000 to 20,000 deer living there. Cheetal has been brought here from Pench National Park.
Chittal, nilgai, kirpan, chinkara and wild boar have substantial prey.
Dogs and cows and buffaloes are vaccinated.
Asian Cheetah is smaller in size. Africans are big. like a lion.
Kutch is better than Kuno
It is difficult for the African cheetah to hunt the Kuno’s sambar deer. Apart from this, there is also a question whether the dense forest here will also suit the leopard or not. Cheetahs generally live in open grasslands. So, there will be a change in attitude in Kuno. There are still many questions. Apart from this, the cheetah is used to living in open areas. This will also reduce their reproduction. If cheetahs were brought to Banni or Velavadar in Gujarat, there was a suitable place for them.
Usually there are 100 cheetahs in 5000 square meters. The area of km which is in Kutch.
Vijay Rupani’s failure
During Congress times and after them, the Center wanted Cheetah to stay in Gujarat. But the Gujarat government of BJP did not take any action. If Modi had asked, the Gujarat government would have brought Chito. But Modi would not want the Cheetah to remain in Gujarat.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change took interest in bringing Cheetah to Gujarat through the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
He asked to bring cheetahs to the Banni grasslands and Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat. Vijay Rupani’s government in the state has not responded to the NTCA or the Supreme Court-appointed committee. They had failed. Modi would have said no.
Had the former Chief Minister of the state Vijay Rupani proposed at the Centre, the Cheetah would have been in Gujarat.
Committee was formed
The Supreme Court had constituted a three-member committee. This included Ranjit Singh, former director of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dhananjay Mohan, DG, WII, and DIG, fauna, from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The role of the NTCA committee to find the best location in India for the Cheetah Reproduction Project stated that both the plains of Kutch are the best.
After the two, the Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary, which is part of the Sheopur-Shivpuri forest landscape, had the second largest area among the sites surveyed. Nauradehi Forest Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh area in Rajasthan were other contenders in the list of sites.
10 campuses were evaluated. In which Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are included. In India, cheetahs can be found at Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh, Nauradehi, Moyar in Tamil Nadu, Tal Chhapar in Rajasthan, Velavadar in Gujarat and Banni in Kutch.
A report ‘Assessment of Cheetah Reintroduction Potential in India’ was prepared. Then it was decided to bring cheetahs from Africa, Namibia and South Africa. The central government had initially prepared a plan to bring 18 Cheetah from these three countries.
Gujarat failed
The head of the committee, Ranjit Singh, announced that the Ministry of India has written to the Gujarat government seeking its opinion about the leopard. But, there was no response from Gujarat.
As there was no response from Gujarat, the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India have arrested the leopard. Started considering Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh to bring India to India. Thus the BJP government of Gujarat was very careless.
Gujarat best
Cheetahs live comfortably in the grasslands and Banni in Gujarat is the best place for them. Apart from this, there is a black mountainous area near it, where there is a large number of foxes.
10-12 animals per square kilometer were available for rabbit pasture hunting. To increase the number of prey, the Gujarat government could have increased the number of chital and sambar deer. Like it was done for the lion in Barda Century.
The number of wild prey is less in the Banni grasslands. More than 50 Cheetah can be kept in the area. Had the Gujarat government acted, the leopard could have been brought back. But the state government does not seem to be willing to take up the project.
The Center also ordered Gujarat to investigate suitable habitats for Cheetah. But, no action has been taken. The leopard was last seen in Banni and Rann of Kutch. Which can be repurposed for a cheetah.
Congress’s decision
The project was last considered by Jairam Ramesh in the Congress government in 2009. The Modi government had approved it.
It was considered in the year 2013 also but the matter could not proceed at that time. Pile conservation is a huge responsibility, which also requires preventing human exploitation at the site, which is generally not liked by the government. Khadir could have been kept as a sanctuary on the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Acacia trees and solar panels have been installed in place of green areas there.
There were no Cheetah in India in 1952. There have been repeated proposals to reintroduce the cheetah to India since 1970 but the state government has not been ready.
Cheetah was also imported from Africa and Iran in the 19th century.
Committee chairman from Gujarat
Former Director of Wildlife Conservation of India and Dr. hence. He was Ranjit Singh Jhala. He is also the first director of the ‘Tiger Conservation Authority’, the ‘Wildlife Institute of India’, India’s ‘Wildlife Conservation’ and the architect of India’s ‘Wildlife Protection Act, 1972’.
In 1960, the government planned to resettle Cheetah from Asia, that is, Iran. But it did not extend beyond Iran.
Modi did not give lions; he has brought Cheetah from abroad. Lions were asked for Kuno, but former Chief Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not give them. Now, after spending crores, we have brought Cheetah.
When it came to taking lions to Kuno National Park, the matter reached the Supreme Court. At that time the Supreme Court had commented on the matter.
So far only one person has been killed by a cheetah in India. It may sound ludicrous, but it is true.
Hunting in Gujarat
The Banni region of Velavadar Kutch, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, provides open ground for Cheetah. Bunny once had 50 cheetahs. Before independence, India was home to cheetahs, but due to poaching and depleting forests by Rajput kings, the last cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947.
Hunting of Rajput kings
The king considered the leopard as a status symbol. Owning, training cheetahs and preparing them for special hunting. One day the cheetah became extinct from our country due to captivity. The practice of keeping Cheetah in captivity was widespread during the monarchy. Meanwhile, from the 14th to the 16th century, there was a sharp decline in the breeding of cheetahs. After that in the 18th century its numbers were greatly reduced.
Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh of Surguja state in central India ruthlessly hunted 1,360 tigers in the name of Dev. Hunted to stop the hunt.
The Asiatic leopard was officially declared extinct in India in 1952. Currently, the Asiatic pita is found only in Iran. Rajput kings used to hunt it a lot. Before the independence of India, the rulers of many states had kept the Cheetah. The Maharaja of Kolhapur imported cheetahs from Africa for hunting in 1937 at a cost of £10,000.
Finally, there are three Cheetah left in India which were males and were hunted by their Maharaja Raman uj Pratap Singh Deo. The Cheetah was destroyed by the Rajput kings.
Hunt for shepherds
The Mughal emperor Akbar kept about nine thousand Cheetah. India’s grassy land, forest area started being used for agriculture. According to some historical records, about 200 Cheetah were killed in India for grazing sheep and goats.
Cheetah speed
The Cheetah is a unique animal in the cat family, which is the fastest running animal. The speed of a cheetah varies from 112 to 120 km/h. At this speed it can cover a distance of 460 meters. It can accelerate from zero to 110 kmph in just three seconds. The life span of a cheetah is 12 years. It becomes an adult in 20 to 23 months. The speed of the cheetah is 120 km per hour.
Cheetah in the world
The majority of cheetah populations are in six African countries; Zimbabwe, which had 1,200 cheetahs two decades ago, is half that number today. The world population of cheetahs is 7100. In India, the Cheetah is becoming extinct for the last 70 years. There are currently about 7,100 cheetahs in the world. Evidence of the extent to which this species has been destroyed is that in the 20th century there were more than a million cheetahs in 44 countries. Currently, cheetahs are restricted to only 20 countries. Finally, there are three Cheetah left in India which were males and were hunted by their Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo. The Cheetah was destroyed by the Rajput kings.
