Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The members of Cheetah Steering Committee are likely to visit Kuno National Park (Sheopur) next month to take stock of the Cheetah Project. They will also analyze the health of fifteen adult cheetahs housed in enclosures. They might also take a decision on the use of a radio collar.
“It is up to the Cheetah Steering Committee to take any decision on the issue related to the radio collar,” said principal chief conservator of forest wildlife Aseem Shrivastava.
A forest officer told Free Press that the same kind of radio collar is being used for cheetahs across the globe but there is no report of any infection. Even the use of leather radio collars may cause some kind of issue, he added.
“ We have removed the radio collar of only six cheetahs who have developed maggots in the neck where the collar was tied. The remaining cheetahs are wearing the radio collar and they have not developed any infection,” said the officer.
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Meanwhile, the study is underway to ascertain whether radio collar is suitable for cheetahs in Kuno or if some other measures are needed to be taken to keep a tab on the Cheetah.
Notably, radio collar came under criticism after three cheetahs died due to infection caused around the radio collar area. Some argued that it is too tight, while others argued that the radio collar had softened the skin of the neck and this led to formation of maggots in the radio collar area.
Cheetah cub to be hand-raised
The lone surviving cheetah cub is going to be hand-raised as all the efforts of reuniting it with the mother Jwala have failed. Now, the Kuno officers have lost all hope of their reunion and decided to raise the cub in a solitude manner.
