National Park

Cheetahs exploring habitat, Project Tiger head on straying incident in MP

Cheetahs released into the wild are exploring their habitat and it's a very good sign, a senior environment ministry official has said after a spotted feline strayed out of Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park recently. State forest officials on Friday said that Oban, one of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia in September last year, had strayed out of the Kuno National Park on April 2. It was rescued from a forest area in a neighbouring Shivpuri district on Thursday evening and released into the national park again, they said. Additional Director General of Forests S P Yadav told PTI that such movement of cheetahs is a natural phenomenon and there is nothing to worry about. "Four cheetahs have been released completely. They are free ranging in the wild. Their movement is natural. We are happy that cheetahs are moving and exploring the areas and based on the exploration they identify their suitable habitat," Yadav, who is also the head of Project Tiger, said in an interview with

Resorts within one-km of Rajaji National Park not necessarily legal: NGT

The National Green Tribunal has said that it was wrongly assumed in a report that resorts within one-km radius of the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand were legal and formed a panel of "higher-level officials" to take remedial action. The NGT was hearing the matter regarding the illegal functioning of hotels, resorts, pubs, clubs and ashrams and other commercial activities in the Chilla Range of Rajaji National Park. A bench of Chairperson Justice A K Goel noted that in October last year, the tribunal had directed remedial action against violations by 19 resorts along with recovery of compensation for restoration of the environment, following which reports were filed by the Director of Rajaji National Park and the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) earlier this month. The bench also comprising judicial members Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted that according to the report, action was taken against illegally operating .

Cheetahs unlikely to pose threat to people near Kuno National Park: Study

As Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh waits to welcome 12 more cheetahs on Saturday, which will take the count of the big cats at the protected forest to 20, a study says the carnivores are highly unlikely to pose a threat to the people living in the vicinity. The cheetahs, including five females, are being brought from South Africa, five months after the first batch of eight spotted felines from Namibia were released into a quarantine enclosure at KNP under India's ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme. There exist no records of wild-born metapopulation attacking humans... All (12) founder cheetahs sourced for reintroduction (in India) are wild born. The prospect of any of these cheetahs attacking humans can be considered highly unlikely, says the risk management plan of the project authored by South African cheetah metapopulation manager Vincent van der Merwe. The findings could assuage concerns over potential man-animal conflicts among locals. The buffer zone of KNP, wher

4 indigenous species in India that need conservation efforts in 2023

India has only about 300-900 Gharials, fewer than 1,000 Lesser Floricans, fewer than 250 Great Indian Bustards and only 674 Asiatic Lions

MoU delay holds up translocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa to India

A dozen cheetahs quarantined in South Africa for more than four months have lost fitness in their wait to be flown to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) as a formal signing of an agreement is holding up their inter-continental translocation, wildlife experts have said. They said prolonged quarantine is taking a toll on the health of these big cats, who are slated to join the eight cheetahs imported from Namibia and released in KNP in Sheopur district in mid-September. In fact, the 12 South African cheetahs seven males and five females - have not hunted for themselves even once after being kept in bomas (small enclosures), said wildlife experts in know of India's cheetah reintroduction plan. Though there has been some forward movement in implementation of Project Cheetah with South Africa in recent days, Pretoria is yet to ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian government for transfer of the spotted cats to KNP. Three of them have been kept in Phinda quarant

SC allows Mumbai Metro to pursue application to cut 84 trees in Aarey

Case pertains to construction of Metro car shed on forest land in Aarey which adjoins Sanjay Gandhi National Park; next hearing likely in Feb 2023

Quarantine clearance received for 8 cheetahs in Kuno National Park

After getting clearance from the concerned ministry, two male cheetahs were released in a acclimatisation enclosure of Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Saturday

2 of 8 cheetahs released in acclimatisation enclosure at Kuno National Park

Two of the eight cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) were on Saturday released into an acclimatisation enclosure from the quarantine area where they were kept since translocated from Namibia in mid-September, an official said. "Two cheetahs were released in the larger enclosure from the quarantine zones on Saturday. The remaining six cheetahs will also be released in the (acclimatisation enclosure) in a phased manner," KNP Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Prakash Kumar Verma confirmed to PTI. The larger enclosure is an area of more than five square km, officials had earlier said. Eventually, the eight cheetahs will be released into the wild as per plans. The eight cheetahs - five females and three males in the 30-66 month age group- were released in the dedicated quarantine zones at KNP on September 17 at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, heralding the return of the big cats to India 70 years after they were declared extinct in the country. According to

Cheetahs to move to bigger enclosure in Kuno park in Nov: Task force member

The eight cheetahs flown to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) from Namibia in mid-September will be moved to an acclimatization enclosure in November before being released in the wild, a member of the Centre's task force on the big cats said on Monday. The task force formed to monitor the cheetahs in KNP in Sheopur district and take a call on their shifting from quarantine zones to a larger enclosure spread over an area of more than five square km held a meeting on Monday. At the meeting, it was decided that the spotted cats from the African country will be shifted to the acclimatization 'boma' (enclosure) in November, the task force member told PTI on condition of anonymity. He said the cheetahs will be released in a phased manner in the acclimatization enclosure and added the task force took the decision after lengthy discussions. He said two members of the Centre-appointed body could not attend the meeting due to unavoidable reasons. Earlier meetings had remained ...

Six-month wait for public to see the wild cats: Project Cheetah Head

In a Q&A, S P Yadav says there have been concerns about the reintroduction project in terms of the ecological adaptation of the felines and co-habitation with other species

Rearing cheetahs: Kuno project requires careful handling

Dedicated follow-up is needed to ensure the Kuno ecosystem finds a new balance where these beauties can thrive

PM Modi to visit MP's Kuno National Park on his birthday on Sept 17

PM Narendra Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on September 17, his birthday, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said

Indian-American woman missing in US national park amid heavy rain

As heavy rain has lashed parts of the US, a search is underway for an Indian-American woman who went missing during a flash flood in Utah's Zion National Park

India's plan to reintroduce Cheetah follows success in other such projects

Country increased its Tiger population and other conservation efforts helped the Indian antelope and the gaur

SC bans mining within 1-km radius of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that mining within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries shall not be permitted

No mining within 1 km of protected forests, orders Supreme Court

'The Chief Conservator of Forests should make a list of existing structures under the sensitive zone and submit the report to the court within three months,' the bench said

National parks, sanctuaries must have ESZ of 1 km from boundary: SC

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and A S Bopanna said mining within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries shall not be permitted

Surveillance at Rajaji Tiger Reserve increased amid rising bird flu cases

As the cases of bird flu continue to rise across states, surveillance at Rajaji Tiger Reserve has been increased

Call of the wild

National Park tourism must evolve beyond the tiger

Declare 10 km area around 21 national parks, sanctuaries as ESZ: SC to govt

It can direct that certain industries and operations are not carried out, or subjected to safeguards, in ESZs