One more cheetah dies at Kuno National Park

One more cheetah has been found dead in the Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh,
The fifth adult to have died since 20 of the beasts were translocated from Namibia and South Africa a year ago.
The latest death of the cheetah, named Surya, comes two days after Tejas, was found dead. Surya was among the 12 cheetahs which are free ranging and roaming in the wild.

Kuno National Park

Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh is one the most unique destination for all wildlife lovers and enthusiasts.
As soon as one ventures inside this park they experience the exclusive forest of Kardhai, Khair and Salai and one can see wildlife by the dozens foraging across vast meadows.
Some grasslands here are bigger than most at Kanha or Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

Parameter	African Cheetah	Asiatic Cheetah
IUCN status	Vulnerable	Critically Endangered.
CITES status	Appendix-I of the List.	Appendix-I of the List.
Distribution	Around 6,500-7,000 African cheetahs present in the wild.	40-50 found only in Iran.
Physical Characteristics	Bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah.	Smaller and paler than the African cheetah. Has more fur, a smaller head and a longer neck. Usually have red eyes and they have a more cat-like appearance.

It is widely believed that Kardhai tree, which is found in abundance here, turns green even with just presence of humidity in atmosphere, even before the arrival of first monsoon showers.
In many ways it represents the true spirit of Kuno’s – its never say die attitude and the ability to survive and ultimately grow despite many challenges this forest has overcome.
This area which has become a National Park today started out as a sanctuary of about 350 sq. kms.
And was in shape of a leaf with Kuno river forming the main centre spine. This river not only helps in keeping a constant water supply in the area and irrigating the forest from inside out but also gave this protected area its name.
Since the project of reintroduction of Asiatic Lions has been on going for a while and one of the preconditions as raised by concerned authorities about the status of this protected area as Sanctuary not being worthy of hosting the lions, was upgraded to National Park while adding another about 400 sq kms to it and it is now 748 sq km of pristine forest area.
The park lies within the larger Kuno Wildlife Division which has a total area of 1235 sq. km

SOURCE: THE HINDU, PIB

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