Cheetahs released into the wild are exploring their habitat and it’s a very good sign, a senior environment ministry official has said after a spotted feline strayed out of Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park recently. State forest officials on Friday said that Oban, one of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia in September last year, had strayed out of the Kuno National Park on April 2. It was rescued from a forest area in a neighbouring Shivpuri district on Thursday evening and released into the national park again, they said. Additional Director General of Forests S P Yadav told PTI that such movement of cheetahs is a natural phenomenon and there is nothing to worry about. ”Four cheetahs have been released completely. They are free ranging in the wild. Their movement is natural. We are happy that cheetahs are moving and exploring the areas and based on the exploration they identify their suitable habitat,” Yadav, who is also the head of Project Tiger, said in an interview with PTI. ”It is a very good sign that they are exploring other areas. It’s a natural phenomenon and there is nothing to worry about. But I must tell you that every cheetah which has been released in Kuno is monitored round the clock,” he said. The senior official said the government has appointed ”Cheetah mitras” to familiarise the local populations with the felines and minimise potential conflicts. Forest officials in Madhya Pradesh have trained around 400 ”cheetah mitras” from 51 villages. Those trained include school teachers, village headmen and patwaris.
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