Cheetahs' Journey: Natural Territorial Behavior Unveiled

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) clarified that the movement of cheetahs from Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh to Baran, Rajasthan, is natural territorial behavior. The NTCA emphasized the importance of the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar wildlife corridor, with the cheetahs monitored closely by an inter-state team.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has clarified recent media reports about the movement of cheetahs from Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh to Baran in Rajasthan, describing it as a natural territorial behavior.

According to NTCA, the cheetahs' movement, tracked between Mangrol range and the Banjh Amli Conservation Reserve, reflects the animals' long-distance dispersal tendencies across landscape boundaries. This behavior is accounted for in the Project Cheetah Action Plan, which anticipates inter-state movement within the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar metapopulation landscape.

The body highlighted the importance of the proposed 17,000 sq. km Kuno-Gandhi Sagar wildlife corridor that links districts in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Cheetahs KP-2 and KP-3, monitored round the clock via GPS and radio collars, cover a distance of 60 to 70 km and are separated by the Parvati River. The NTCA is actively coordinating with state forest departments.