Where are the cheetahs of Kuno National Park? Not a one in sight

The Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the only home of cheetahs in the country, reopened for tourists on Sunday, 6 October, after being shut for the annual monsoon season.

But the visitors' two-year wait to get a glimpse of the cheetahs is not yet over, as the felines have not been released into the wild so far.

Eight large carnivores were brought from Namibia to Kuno in September 2022 and put in bomas (enclosures) to establish their population in India.

Later, another 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa in February 2023 as part of the Indian government's project to 'reintroduce' cheetahs into the country.

Not all survived. Several new cubs born in India died too.

The park, spread over an area of 1,235 sq km — including a 487 sq km buffer zone — has reopened, and visitors are allowed from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., said Kuno's director Uttam Sharma.

He said the park is home to 24 cheetahs, the fastest land animals, including 12 adults brought from Namibia and South Africa.

Asked when tourists will get an opportunity to see the cursorial predators, Sharma said talks were on.

"The call on it will be taken by the Government of India which is spearheading the inter-continental translocation project," another forest official said.

All the national parks in MP, except Kuno, reopened on 1 October after remaining closed from 1 July for the rainy season and mating period of wild animals.

On the delay in reopening Kuno, Sharma said it was due to excess rainfall in Sheopur district. Roads inside the park were in bad shape due to torrential rains.

Sheopur district received the highest (1,323.2 mm) rainfall in MP during the just-concluded monsoon season from 1 June to 20 September, against its annual average rainfall of 666.4 mm. The district recorded 99 per cent more rainfall than normal, said P.K. Raikwar, a meteorologist with the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Bhopal Centre.