Officers within the Union ministry of Setting, Forest and Local weather Change (MoEFC&C)  and people  concerned in cheetah  translocation in Namibia and  South Africa heaved an enormous sigh of aid after Nirva, the feminine cheetah  lacking since July 21 was captured in Kuno nationwide park. However the operation to seize Nirva was an enormous train and, maybe, has no parallel within the historical past of wildlife conservation in India.  Spreading over 150 hours stretched in 22 days, greater than 100 forest division personnel, regarded out for a cheetah in a rain drenched jungle. Day in , time out ,they walked on foot, rode elephants, flew drones and deployed canine looking for the cheetah.  Laborious work and perseverance paid off and Nirva was caught and captured. “Nirva is wholesome and has been stored inside boma for additional well being check-up”, mentioned Aseem Shrivastava, the chief wildlife warden of Madhya Pradesh.

 Nirva in Kuno was Like Needle in Haystack

Operation Nirva started within the backdrop of  three cheetah death- Tejas, Suraj and Tbilisi or Dhatri  between July 11 and August1-  and the rationale for his or her demise was same-  septicemia  shock due to    satellite tv for pc collar abrasion and development of maggots within the wound.  Cheetah casualties rattled the officers derailing the formidable first ever intercontinental cheetah introduction venture. Officers determined to   recapture all of the cheetahs within the wild to verify their collars and stop additional lack of the animals. All however Nirva have been caught and introduced again to enclosures. Nirva’s collar had developed some technical snag and it stopped   emitting alerts. Below the thick inexperienced cowl of the dry deciduous Kuno,   finding a cheetah was like in search of the proverbial needle within the haystack. It was nonetheless scorching and humid and he or she nonetheless had a collar round her, nevertheless it was non useful, there have been all the probabilities of abrasion and development of maggots, the reason for the final three cheetah casualties.

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 Because the officers have been making ready for the worst, the seek for Nirva started. All of the accessible sources in Kuno have been pooled collectively to launch an enormous hunt   for the elusive animal. “Each day 15-20 sq km space was being searched. Together with this, villagers have been knowledgeable about Nirva and any data obtained from them was instantly checked and verified”, mentioned the PCCF (wildlife)  Aseem Shrivastava. There was a time when Nirva remained untraceable for over every week resulting in apprehensions over her effectively being.

Longest Wait For Dawn  

When the marathon train was underway, the thermal night time imaginative and prescient drones with thermal   turned out to be probably the most great tool.  Two such cameras have been deployed. It was a difficult job to function the flying machines within the pitch darkish jungle.  Working for lengthy throughout unearthly hours at a stretch, drone operators began falling sick however the operation continued when Nirva was first positioned by one such sortie. There was a glimmer of hope. However the animal would quickly vanish within the wild the subsequent morning.  Monitoring  her pugmarks the  forest  rangers and forest guards  would comply with  the path however  in useless. Mahouts  would  additional penetrate the jungle terrain the place the  inexperienced troopers on foot  might attain however additionally they  failed to trace the noticed cat. “In contrast to tigers, cheetahs do not transfer out at night time. It has an altogether completely different conduct. However  through the day it strikes quick. “ mentioned a wildlife knowledgeable.  There have been events when Nirva was positioned however  was away from the attain of the 30 meters  vary of the tranquilizing gun.  “A tiger might let veterinarians  armed with tranquilising weapons and mahouts  attain nearer however a wild cheetah  received’t”, mentioned an officer.

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  “ Within the morning of August 12 , all of the sudden the situation from the satellite tv for pc was obtained offering her location of August 11 night. Few extra places have been additionally obtained on the identical day”, mentioned the PCCF (wildlife) , Shrivastava.  Drone cameras confirmed the situation on August -12 night time. Amidst the nocturnal sounds of jungle, the drone crew   positioned themselves  on the identical place ,  a canine squad was deployed and the veterinarians  have been prepared with their tranquilizing weapons. They waited for the dawn. And it was the longst wait . On the first light, the  complete crew proceeded nearer to the cheetah. One of many vets fired a dart and it was bang on track. Nirva tried to run away  however quickly collapsed  solely to be caught by  the  jubilant Kuno  staffers.    “Nirva, the feminine South African cheetah captured efficiently immediately (13/08/2023) morning at round 10 am in Dhoret vary of Kuno Nationwide Park for well being check-up”, mentioned the PCCF (wildlife) after the seize. He mentioned all of the 15 cheetahs (7 males, 7 females and 1 feminine cub) in Kuno Nationwide Park are actually in bomas and wholesome and are repeatedly monitored on well being parameters by the Kuno veterinary crew. The climate remains to be   scorching and humid  and cheetahs  collars are  but to get replaced. They are going to stay in bomas  until the monsoon is  over  and might be launched on the onset of winters.

By Deshdeep Saxena

Representational Photos Courtsey Dr Adrian Tordiffe