नवीनतम
Gujarat's Banni Grasslands ready to host cheetahs, say officials
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The Banni Grasslands in Gujarat, the largest such expanse in the Indian subcontinent and one of the 10 sites selected for cheetah rehabilitation in the country, is now fully prepared to host the big cats, officials said on Wednesday.
Jaipal Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Gujarat, told PTI that a breeding centre for cheetahs has been set up and efforts are underway to further enhance the prey population of chital and sambar.
"We are ready with everything, including quarantine and soft release bomas (enclosures). However, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Cheetah Project Steering Committee will decide when the animals will be brought here," he said.
Singh said a 600-hectare enclosure has been developed, the herbivore population has been increased, and facilities such as CCTV monitoring and a dedicated veterinary centre have been established.
Fences have been installed to prevent the infiltration of other large carnivores into the cheetah enclosures. Veterinarians have also been trained at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, the first site in India to host cheetahs translocated from Africa, he added.
According to the plan to introduce cheetahs in the Banni Grasslands, the natural habitat preferences of cheetahs in Africa include grasslands, savannahs and scrublands, and the habitat conditions in Banni closely match these.
Vantara, a Jamnagar-based rescue, conservation and rehabilitation facility of the Reliance Foundation, posted on Instagram that in collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department, it has reintroduced spotted deer into the Banni Grasslands.
