Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A team of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is expected to reach Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in the first week of January to assess preparations done for cheetah translocation.
The team will inspect enclosures, prey base, security arrangements etc. Sources in the forest department said that NTCA team is expected to reach Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary between January 1 to January 3.
Before going to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, NTCA team will go to Kuno National Park. One of the forest officers on condition of anonymity said that the government is yet to select the country for cheetah translocation but most probably, cheetahs will be brought from South Africa.
As far as preparations are concerned, eight enclosures including two treatment enclosures have been prepared in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. It is learnt that it is one month before their translocation that Cheetahs are captured in the designated country.
After capturing they are kept inside enclosures for one month. Later, a delegation of Indian officers will go the designated country and will take information about cheetahs. After being brought from the selected country, Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary officials will keep Cheetahs in quarantine enclosure for a month. It is after this that any decision will be taken to release them into the wild.
Meanwhile, officers of Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary are trying to oust the remaining two to three leopards from the area which has been selected for releasing cheetahs into the wild.
Six to eight cheetahs to be translocated
Sources in the forest department said that around six to eight cheetahs are likely to be translocated to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. There is also likelihood that some cheetahs may be sent to Gujarat. Notably, Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary has been developed as the second home of Cheetahs under cheetah relocation plan.
