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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

16/06/24 20:09 PM IST

Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary is being developed as India’s second home for cheetahs

In News
  • The Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary will be the second home for cheetahs in India, after the Kuno National Park.
  • The Madhya Pradesh government has announced that it has completed its preparations for the ambitious project.
Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary
  • The sanctuary is spread across an area of 368.62 sq km, in the districts of Mandsaur (187.12 sq km) and Neemuch (181.5 sq km) in western MP, right on the border with Rajasthan.
  • It sits atop a flat rocky plateau, with the Chambal river cutting the sanctuary into two almost equal halves.
  • The Gandhi Sagar dam, constructed on the river in 1960, lies within the area of the sanctuary, and so does parts of its reservoir, 726 sq km large in area and third largest in the country.
  • Due to the rocky terrain and exposed sheetrock, the topsoil is shallow.
  • This is behind Gandhi Sagar’s savanna ecosystem comprising open grasslands interspersed with dry deciduous trees and shrubs. 
Preparation for Introduction of Cheetah
  • Currently, an area of 64 sq km has been developed for the cheetahs, at a cost of Rs. 17.72 crores.
  • Wildlife officials have been busy constructing a soft release enclosure (or boma) which, according to them, would “ensure a suitable and secure habitat for the cheetahs upon their arrival”. This enclosure is 1 sq km in area, with four equal partitions.
  • Authorities are also constructing a hospital which would cater to the needs of cheetahs.
  • Moreover, wildlife officials are currently in the process of conducting a comprehensive status assessment of herbivores and predators in the sanctuary to gauge the existing ecological dynamics.
  • The Chairperson of the Cheetah Steering Committee was tasked to oversee and evaluate the overall readiness of the WLS to “ensure that the sanctuary is adequately equipped and prepared to support the successful integration and conservation of cheetahs within its natural landscape”.
Challenges
  • In one word: food. For cheetahs to sustainably survive in Gandhi Sagar, the first step is thus prey base augmentation, i.e. increasing the number of animals that the wild cats can prey upon.
  • Male cheetah siblings form coalitions comprising three to five members, whereas females live more solitary lives (unless they are with their litter).
  • On average, a cheetah coalition is expected to make a kill every 3-4 days.
  • According to a Wildlife Institute of India report, “considering the finite growth rate of ungulates to be ~1.33, a population of about 350 ungulates are required for a single cheetah coalition family” (Y V Jhala et al, “Assessment of cheetah introduction sites and proposed action”, 2021).
  • Ungulates are members of a diverse clade of animals, primarily consisting of big mammals with hooves (like deer).
  • About 1500 chital, 1000 blackbuck, and 350 chinkara should be translocated to Gandhi Sagar… this prey base would suffice for 7-8 cheetah family/ coalition.
  • An insufficient prey base is still an issue in Gandhi Sagar, much like it has been in Kuno. Officials are now pushing for around 5,000 antelopes to be relocated to Gandhi Sagar.
  • This too will have its own hurdles, including “stress related mortalities” during the capturing and relocation process.
  • Just like in Kuno, the leopard population in Gandhi Sagar will pose a threat to cheetahs, with the two feline predators competing for the same prey, and possibly even clashing with each other in wild encounters.
  • In fact, apart from leopards, the sanctuary has several other co-predators as well, including sloth bears, striped hyenas, gray wolves, golden jackals, jungle cats, Indian foxes, and marsh crocodiles.
Source- Indian Express

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