Bhopal, Sep 3: A female cheetah that went missing after being separated from her three cubs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park has been rescued from neighbouring Shivpuri district after an 11‑day search, and her malfunctioning satellite collar replaced, officials said on Thursday.
The 6-year-old South African cheetah, named Nirva, is healthy and doing well, they said.
Shivpuri is located about 35 km from the Kuno National Park in Sheopur district.
The search for cheetah Nirva had been underway since August 20 after it got separated from its cubs and moved out of radio range, making it difficult for forest authorities to ascertain its location, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director, Cheetah Project, Uttam Sharma told PTI.
The satellite component of Nirva’s collar, which was fitted after the big cat was brought from South Africa on February 18, 2023, was also malfunctioning, further hampering tracking efforts, Sharma said.
Five search teams comprising more than 50 forest personnel, including officers and experienced cheetah trackers, were deployed daily to locate Nirva, he said.
Villagers in the area were also informed about Nirva and asked to share information about its movements. Every input received from local residents was immediately followed up and verified by the search teams.
On Wednesday, the teams received information about the movement of a cheetah near a village in Shivpuri district. They immediately reached the location and identified Nirva before rescuing it, the official said.
The feline’s malfunctioning collar was also replaced.
“Nirva is healthy and doing well,” Sharma said.
India currently has 52 cheetahs, including 32 born in the country, and 33 of them are fitted with radio collars, the official informed.
Of these, 49 cheetahs are in Kuno National Park and three in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur. Seventeen cheetahs are currently roaming in the wild across the two wildlife sanctuaries, he added.
Cheetahs became extinct in India about seven decades ago, following which the country launched a reintroduction programme in September 2022 to revive their population.
Under the project, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia in September 2022, followed by 12 from South Africa in February 2023. A third batch of nine cheetahs arrived from Botswana on February 28 this year. (PTI)
