Indian delegates sent to South Africa to learn about cheetah management
While the forest authorities in Madhya Pradesh have failed to create prey base for cheetahs in the forest even after two years of the commencement of Project Cheetah, senior forest officials who went to South Africa to learn about cheetah management had stated in the tour report that they would be better prepared for foreign tour and lamented about the non-availability of Indian food.
Under a section “Future Prospects” in the report, the officials said, “Most common problem faced by Indian delegates was food. South African food is quite different from Indian food in content, preparation and serving. Though all of us were well prepared about this issue, we managed it accordingly. At some places there were problems in accommodation and transportation but delegates adjusted somehow. Schedule was quite packed and short.”
It further added, “Most of us visited South Africa for the first time to get familiarised about issues and challenges in cheetah management. This visit provided us insight for preparedness about foreign tours which will help us for better planning in future. The tour also helped us in deciding the type of exposure and target group along with better planning to provide a smooth program for any foreign country especially South Africa.”
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said that Indian Forest Service officers are trained to adapt in every condition as they camp in forests.
He remarked that the authorities should concentrate on creating a prey base for cheetah rather than lamenting about the lack of food to their palette.
“It is surprising that the government is spending crores of rupees on Project Cheetah and to train the officials for its effective management and they lament about food and transportation in the report. This is the first time this has happened. They are trained well to adapt to different situations,” he said.
The Kuno National Park is a home to translocated cheetahs in India. Apart from cheetahs, the park is dominated by leopards which feed on chitals thereby impacting the prey of the former.
