TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: Project Cheetah, an ambitious wildlife conservation initiative, aims to reintroduce cheetahs into India, with Kuno National Park being the primary site. However, the dwindling population of chital, a crucial prey base, and the rising presence of leopards have posed significant challenges.
EXPLANATION:
- The authorities are now considering moving surplus cheetahs to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and introducing larger predators, like tigers, to balance the ecosystem.
Reassessment of Cheetah Carrying Capacity
- The initial carrying capacity for cheetahs at Kuno National Park was set at 21 as per the Project Action Plan.
- However, Kuno currently hosts 26 cheetahs, including 13 cubs and sub-adults.
- A significant reassessment was prompted by a staggering loss of over 25% of Kuno’s chital population since 2022, which was the prime prey base for cheetahs.
- An estimated 2,250 chital have disappeared within a year.
- Given that the seven cheetahs that managed to hunt in the wild only accounted for around 50 chital kills, the loss remains largely unexplained.
- Authorities have ruled out large-scale poaching due to extensive surveillance, focusing instead on the impact of the park’s 90-strong leopard population.
Role of Leopards in Prey Depletion
- The leopards in Kuno are believed to be a significant factor in the declining chital numbers.
- The presence of leopards is also complicating efforts to establish a cheetah prey base at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, where they have been sneaking into enclosures to feed on chital brought from prey-rich forests in the state.
- Madhya Pradesh is planning to introduce 1,500 chitals to replenish Kuno’s dwindling stock and another batch to Gandhi Sagar.
- However, without addressing leopard predation, these efforts might be insufficient.
Proposed Solutions and Challenges
- The Cheetah Project Steering Committee is considering introducing larger cats, like tigers, to Kuno to reduce leopard activities and ease the pressure on the prey base.
- This approach is seen as a biological strategy to foster ecological niches, as larger cats could dominate the space and impact leopard predation and breeding.
- While introducing tigers could theoretically work, it raises concerns about potential man-animal conflicts due to dispersal.
- Over the past 15 years, four male tigers from Rajasthan’s Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve have reached Kuno, with one believed to be still present.
- The plan involves translocating a couple of female tigers to establish a founder population.
Relocation of Surplus Cheetahs
- Project Cheetah authorities have decided to shift surplus cheetahs from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary after the monsoon.
- However, this plan is contingent upon removing leopards from the prey enclosure and completing prey augmentation.
- While Gandhi Sagar awaits cheetahs, the challenge remains in securing compartments within the sanctuary from leopard intrusion.
- Kuno’s experience in managing cheetah and leopard dynamics will inform strategies at Gandhi Sagar.
Controversies and Differing Opinions
- A retired forest officer and some state officials question the extent to which leopards are responsible for the chital population decline, suggesting potential underestimation of bushmeat poaching or inconsistencies in population estimates.
- Over the past two decades, chital density estimates in Kuno have varied widely, ranging from 5 per sq km in 2006 to 69 per sq km in 2013.
- The most recent estimates in 2021 suggested densities of 38 and 23 per sq km using different methods, translating to over 8,000 chitals in Kuno.
- Despite releasing at least 750 chitals since then, the population has continued to decline, reaching an estimated 6,500.
Project Cheetah
- Project Cheetah is the world’s first intercontinental large wild carnivore translocation project.
- The project aimed at the reintroduction of Cheetahs in the country which had become extinct in 1950s in the country.
- The cheetahs, including Jwala and Aasha, were translocated from Namibia as part of this ambitious conservation initiative.
- The cheetahs were translocated from Namibia and South Africa, showcasing global collaboration in wildlife conservation.
- The first batch of eight cheetahs arrived in India in September 2022, followed by a second batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa in February.
- Project Cheetah aimed at establishing a self-sustaining population of about 35 cheetahs in the country over the next decade.
- However, the Project has faced several criticisms with the death of 9 cheetahs (6 adults and 3 cubs) out of the 20 translocated cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa.
- The birth of three cubs by Namibian cheetah Jwala adds to the growing success of the reintroduction program at Kuno National Park.
Kuno National Park
- The topography of Madhya Pradesh in Central India is fascinating. Perhaps, it is the only Indian state with such a diversity of habitats—the dense forests on the Satpura foothills, the open dry grasslands, and the sparse, thorny forests found across the state and the wetlands of River Chambal.
- Located in the northern district of Sheopur, Kuno National Park predominantly consists of grasslands and sparse forests that are home to an abundance of mammals, reptiles, birds, and butterflies. Although there has been a lot written about the tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh, the beautiful Kuno National Park (KNP) has emerged in general discourse because of Cheetah’s reintroduction.
- Kuno National Park has a rich floral diversity with more than 129 species of trees. These tropical dry deciduous forests mainly consist of Anogeissus pendula (Kardhai), Senegalia catechu (Khair) Boswellia serrata (Salai), and associated flora.
- Kuno’s forests are arguably the finest remnants of the Central Indian Highlands; they were once the hunting grounds of the Gwalior maharajas.
- They are inhabited by carnivores such as the Indian Leopard, Indian Wolf, Golden Jackal, Sloth Bear, Indian Fox, and Striped Hyena. The herbivores found here are Spotted Deer, Sambhar, Nilgai, Chousingha, and Blackbuck. The high density of ungulates in Kuno can be attributed to the abundance of short grass species to feed on and the tall grass which provides shelter to the fawns.