Kuno National Park: Cheetah Asha makes her first hunt

BHOPAL: Asha, the cheetah named by PM Modi, has become the first female cheetah to have a successful hunt at Kuno National Park.

Asha made her first kill in the very early hours of November 29, two days after being shifted to a larger boma (enclosure) to begin hunting as the precursor to full release in the wild.

All eight cheetahs brought from Namibia are now in hunting bomas but none of the other females has yet had a successful hunt. For two days, Asha was observed feeding calmly, savouring her first meal of Indian prey.

Despite being a wild-caught cheetah without much exposure to people, Asha appears to be very relaxed with the monitoring team. At 123 days, Aasha had the longest quarantine stay of any female.

Asha and Tbilisi were moved from quarantine pens into their soft-release bomas on the afternoon of November 27. Project Cheetah staff lured the two females out of quarantine with food, leading them down long, narrow funnels specifically built for this purpose, said officers. It took less than an hour each to complete the movement, exceeding the expectations of the Kuno field teams.

Staff have yet to confirm a kill for Tbilisi, but they have observed her hunting and expect this to happen very soon.

The three remaining females - Siyaya, Sasha, and Savannah - moved into their soft-release bomas on the morning of November 28. They were transported in crates from quarantine pens to their 120-hectare new enclosure. Ever since, teams have observed them exploring their new space.

The move for the five female cheetahs was easier than anticipated and stress-free for the animals. All of them are fit and healthy, not showing any signs of negative impacts from their 90-plus-day quarantine period, say officers.

"All eight Namibian cheetahs have been released now into bomas from their quarantine pens and are exhibiting signs they are adapting well to local conditions. Their good health and comfort level in India is also a testimony to the diligent care, monitoring and measured actions by our Project Cheetah team and international consultants. We look forward to next steps and are confident in our continued success," said High Commissioner of India to Namibia, Prashant Agrawal.



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