Kuno cheetah Nirva found in Shivpuri after 11-day search

A female cheetah that had gone missing from Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) after separating from her three cubs has been traced in neighbouring Shivpuri district after an 11-day search, forest officials said on Thursday.According to agency reports, the six-year-old South African cheetah, Nirva, was rescued on Wednesday and found to be in good health. Officials also replaced her malfunctioning satellite collar after she was brought back under the supervision of the forest department.
Shivpuri is located around 35 km from Kuno National Park in Sheopur district, where Nirva had been roaming before moving out of the park.According to Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director, Cheetah Project, Uttam Sharma, the search operation was launched on August 20 after Nirva separated from her cubs and moved beyond radio range. This made it difficult for officials to establish her location.The tracking challenge was compounded by a technical problem with the satellite component of Nirva’s collar. The collar had been fitted after the cheetah was brought to India from South Africa on February 18, 2023.
Forest authorities formed five dedicated search teams involving more than 50 personnel, including senior officers and experienced cheetah trackers. The teams conducted searches on a daily basis across areas where Nirva was suspected to have moved.Officials also sought the assistance of villagers in the region, asking them to immediately report any sightings or information about the cheetah. Each lead received from local residents was followed up and verified by the search teams.The breakthrough came on Wednesday when officials received information about a cheetah spotted near a village in Shivpuri district. Teams rushed to the location, confirmed that the animal was Nirva and safely rescued her.Following the rescue, her faulty satellite collar was removed and replaced to ensure more reliable tracking.“Nirva is healthy and doing well,” Sharma said.
India’s cheetah population currently stands at 52, including 32 cubs born in the country, according to officials. Of these, 33 cheetahs are equipped with radio collars to enable authorities to monitor their movements and health.Kuno National Park is home to 49 cheetahs, while three are housed at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur. Seventeen cheetahs are currently ranging freely in the wild across the two sanctuaries, officials said.Cheetahs were declared extinct in India nearly 70 years ago. The country revived efforts to bring back the species through the Cheetah Reintroduction Programme, launched in September 2022.The first batch of eight cheetahs arrived in India from Namibia in September 2022. This was followed by 12 cheetahs from South Africa in February 2023. Another nine cheetahs were brought from Botswana on February 28 this year, further expanding India’s efforts to establish a sustainable cheetah population.

(Asstt.Editor)