Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary to Welcome Cheetahs in 4 Months

Bhopal: Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh will be ready to receive cheetahs in four months, a senior forest officer said on Wednesday. The sanctuary spread over 368 sq km and situated on the northern boundary of Mandsaur and neemuch districts will be the second home for cheetahs in India after Kuno National Park.

“Preparations are in full swing to make Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary the new home for cheetahs. Necessary infrastructure being laid in the sanctuary for the purpose will be completed within four months”, a senior forest officer of the Madhya Pradesh government told this newspaper, requesting not to be quoted.

According to him, the solar-powered fencing in the sanctuary has been completed to make it predator proof. Besides, eight quarantine bomas (enclosures) have been built to put the cheetahs when they will be relocated here from an African nation.

The soft release enclosures have also been built in the wildlife sanctuary for the release of the cheetahs after the end of their quarantine period. “Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary has been equipped to accommodate around eight cheetahs”, sources said.

The Centre is exploring options to relocate a fresh batch of cheetahs either from South Africa or from another African nation, a forest officer dealing with the matter said.

The sanctuary which housed leopards will be soon made leopard-free for the safety of cheetahs. As many as 11 leopards have so far been captured and released in other sanctuaries and 20 more leopards remain to be captured, sources said.

There is a good prey base in the sanctuary and the process of shifting 1,250 spotted deer to Gandhi Sagar from other wildlife sanctuaries in the state is in the progress, sources said.