The Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change has formed a task force to monitor health of 8 cheetahs re-introduced in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The task force will function for 2 years while National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will keep watch and provide required assistance to the members.
It may be mentioned here that India brought 8 cheetahs from Namibia to Kune National Park after 70 years as this big cat had become extinct. The task force will be vigilant about health aspect of the cheetahs, checking whether they acclimatize in the new habitat, observing their skills in hunting, exploring possibility of modest eco-tourism in the park, making suggestions and submitting its report from time to time.
The members of the task force include Principal Secretary (Forests), Principal Secretary (Tourism), Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of Forest Force, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), retd PCCF (Wildlife), Alok Kumar, Dr. Amit Malik, Inspector General, NTCA, Dr. Vishnu Priya, Scientist, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Abhilash Khandekar, Member of MP State Board for Wildlife, Bhopal, and Subhoranjan Sen, APCCF ( Wildlife) – Member Secretary.
