Cheetahs from South Africa go to parks in India, Mozambique

International

pti-PTI

Bela-Bela,
Sep
8:
South
Africa
is
flying
cheetahs
to
India
and
Mozambique
as
part
of
ambitious
efforts
to
reintroduce
the
distinctively
spotted
cats
in
regions
where
their
population
has
dwindled.

Four
cheetahs
captured
at
reserves
in
South
Africa
have
been
flown
to
Mozambique
this
week
after
being
held
in
quarantine
for
about
a
month
and
cleared
for
travel.

Conservationists
are
preparing
to
fly
12
more
cheetahs,
reputed
to
be
the
world’s
fastest
land
mammals,
to
India
in
October.
Speaking
to
The
Associated
Press
shortly
after
those
going
to
Mozambique
were
tranquilised
and
placed
into
crates,
wildlife
veterinarian
Andy
Frasier
said
the
relocations
are
tough
for
the
animals.

“It’s
a
very
stressful
process
for
the
cats
to
be
in
a
boma
(livestock
enclosure)
environment
because
they
have
nowhere
to
go
whilst
we
are
darting
them,”
said
Frasier
of
shooting
the
cats
with
darts
of
tranquilisers.
“We
need
to
use
our
drug
doses
very
carefully
and
make
sure
that
we
give
them
enough
drugs
to
anesthetise
them
safely,”
he
said.
“They
have
woken
up
nicely
in
their
crates
and
they
are
all
relaxed
enough
that
we
are
happy
for
them
to
leave
in
their
transport,”
he
said.

PM
Modi
set
to
launch
Cheetah
project
on
his
birthday
on
September
17

Frasier
said
the
team
is
preparing
for
the
larger
and
more
challenging
relocation
of
cheetahs
to
India
which
will
require
the
cats
to
travel
a
much
longer
distance
with
stops
in
commercial
airports.
Those
cheetahs
would
be
treated
with
a
tranquiliser
that
lasts
for
three
to
five
days
during
their
travel,
he
said.

There
are
two
subspecies
of
cheetahs.
Those
that
once
roamed
in
Asia
were
declared
extinct
in
India
in
1952
and
are
now
found
only
in
Iran.
Since
then
there
have
been
efforts
to
reintroduce
these
cats
to
India’s
savannahs.

Initially
the
plan
was
to
bring
in
cheetahs
from
Iran
but
now
they
are
being
moved
from
southern
African
countries.
In
this
restocking
effort,
Namibia
is
contributing
eight
cheetahs
which
will
be
flown
to
India
this
month,
according
to
Vincent
van
der
Merwe,
manager
of
the
Cheetah
Metapopulation
Initiative.
South
Africa
will
send
an
additional
12
cheetahs
to
India
in
October,
he
said.

“For
a
genetically
viable
population
in
India
in
the
long-term
you
need
at
least
500
individuals,
so
every
year
we
will
send
eight
to
12
animals,
to
top
them
up,
to
increase
numbers,
to
bring
in
new
genetics
until
they
have
a
viable
population,”
said
van
der
Merwe.

Indian
officials
say
the
move
will
aid
global
cheetah
conservation
efforts
since
their
range
in
Africa
is
limited.
The
plan
is
for
the
cats
to
be
kept
in
large
enclosures
in
central
Indian
forests,
protected
from
other
predators
like
leopards
or
bears,
to
give
them
time
to
get
used
to
their
new
home.
The
enclosures
have
prey
—
like
deer
and
antelope
—
which
scientists
hope
the
cheetahs
will
hunt.
After
a
few
months
of
close
monitoring,
the
cheetahs
will
be
radio-collared
and
released.

The
southern
African
countries
of
South
Africa,
Zambia,
Namibia
and
Zimbabwe
still
have
significant
cheetah
populations
and
are
expected
to
play
a
significant
role
in
their
reintroduction
in
India
following
the
first
shipments
this
year.

Cheetah
reintroduction:
Helipads
to
come
up
in
MP’s
Kuno
National
Park;
SA
team
to
visit
site

South
Africa’s
cheetah
population
is
expanding
at
a
rate
of
about
8%
annually,
allowing
the
country
to
move
about
30
of
the
cats
to
other
game
reserves
within
South
Africa
and
to
export
some
to
other
countries,
van
der
Merwe
said.
Conservationists
say
Mozambique’s
Zambezi
River
delta
had
a
significant
cheetah
population
which
was
drastically
reduced
by
rampant
poaching
and
because
lions
and
leopards
preyed
upon
the
smaller
cats.

In
this
week’s
operation
the
two
male
and
two
female
adult
cheetahs
were
tranquilised
in
South
Africa’s
northern
Limpopo
province
and
then
were
flown
to
Mozambique’s
Marromeu
National
Reserve
in
the
Zambezi
delta
region.