Cheetah translocation forms part of a dream project of Indian wildlife experts. However, it is the responsibility of the team members of Kuno National Park to take appropriate care of these animals. It is expected that five male cheetahs and three female cheetahs will soon arrive in India. However, these eight spotted cats were still in quarantine in Namibia before entering this country. But soon, they will join the 12 more cheetahs coming from South Africa in October.
It is crucial to protect these wild cats from the dangerous attacks of Rabies. To ensure this plan, more than 1000 dogs received the Anti-Rabies injections. The most ambitious project of India involves reintroducing the fastest land animal to India as the cheetah population is going extinct. Initially, the stipulated date for such a program was fixed on August 13, 2022, the birthday of Indian PM Narendra Modi. The PM also confirmed his visit to Madhya Pradesh because of this ceremony. However, due to the quarantine, there is a delay. Hopefully, the eight cheetahs will arrive in India by next week.
Unique Technique To Protect Cheetahs
The experts have devised a fantastic technique for protecting the large spotted cats from Rabies. According to one of the officials of Kuno National Park, the authorities have given anti-Rabies shots to almost all the dogs living in the periphery of five Kilometers. At the same time, a rumor also spread that the dogs are subjected to vaccination to ensure they remain safe from the Cheetahs. However, the KNP officials disagreed with this statement.
Of course, there is no denial of the fact that the anti-rabies vaccination campaign for stray dogs is one of the largest to date. Now, many may ask why such antidotes of Rabies are essential to save the Cheetahs. The logic behind this is pretty simple. According to the normal habit of a leopard, it does not consume the whole of its prey at once after killing it. Instead, it enjoys only a portion of the carcass first and then returns to the spot to enjoy the rest. However, any other animal, like rabid dogs, can devour the leftovers during this time. In this way, Rabies spread from the carcass to the cheetah and then to several other animals. To avoid such an unpleasant scenario, the officials of KNP gave anti-rabies vaccinations to all the nearby dogs.
Protection With Anti-Rabies Dose
This is not the only time when such an idea clicked in the minds of the experts. In 2013, a 3-year-old baby tiger was unfortunately bitten by a rabid dog. So the forest department decided to give the anti-rabies injection to the tiger.
In one of the interviews, an expert, Verma, stated that Rabies often infects several animals. Hence, it is essential to give anti-rabies vaccines to all animals to protect them significantly. The expert added that this vaccination drive started in April and is still continuing. However, apart from anti-Rabies, the dogs were also subject to other vaccinations. In 1952, Cheetahs were declaredly an extinct animal of India. In 1947, one of the last remaining Cheetahs breathed its last in Korea, now Chhattisgarh.
Although the last two years brought massive panic to the world because of the COVID-19 scenario, things are getting normal gradually. The prey base of KNP is now in a stable state. According to experts, Madhya Pradesh has been enjoying a good record in translocating tigers in the past few years. Hence, it can be expected that the current translocating plan for the Cheetahs will also be a huge success.
