Cheetah ‘Aasha’ at Kuno National Park shows signs of pregnancy, say officials

Project Cheetah: After the translocation in MP’s Kuno from Namibia on September 17, she has adapted well to her new home under the constant watch of WII-Dehradun and the MP forest department.
cheetah

Cheetah ‘Aasha’ at Kuno national park shows sign of pregnancy, say officials

Photo : Mirror Now Digital
Bhopal: The new cheetah population in India is expected to increase after seven decades as ‘Aasha’, one of the four female big cats housed at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, has been showing signs of pregnancy. She may be the first one to deliver at the national park.
The female cheetah Aasha, suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is exhibiting all the behavioral, physical, and hormonal signs of pregnancy. “We are excited but we'll have to wait till October-end to be sure," said an officer as quoted by TOI.
Executive director of Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) Laurie Marker said if Aasha is pregnant, it will be her first cub. “Because she was caught in the wild, it did happen in Namibia. If she gives birth to cubs, we need to give her privacy and quiet. No people around her. She should have a hay bale hut in her enclosure,” said Marker as quoted by TOI.
“As she came from the wild, it’s always possible she could be pregnant. And, if she is expecting, it adds another layer of complexity to the project. Here, the importance of having trained staff on the ground to help manage the cheetah comes to the light. She needs space and peace to lower her stress so that she can focus on rearing her cubs," Dr. Marker told TOI adding that if the Cheetah gives birth, it will be another gift to India from Namibia.
After the translocation in MP’s Kuno from Namibia on September 17, she has adapted well to her new home under the constant watch of WII-Dehradun and the MP forest department, reported TOI.
“There are signs that indicate the cheetah is pregnant but we will have to wait for a few weeks as it takes 55 days for a confirmation,” said an officer requesting anonymity.
Cheetah cubs have a high mortality rate in protected areas, like national parks and wildlife reserves which is an added challenge to Project Cheetah in the country. This is due to greater proximity to large predators than in non-protected areas. The cheetah cub mortality in protected areas can be as high as 90 percent. The cubs weigh 240g to 425g at birth and are blind and helpless. "The mother cheetah, after a day or so, has to leave the cub behind and go hunting for herself, so she can continue to care for the litter. This is the most vulnerable time for the cubs, as they are left unprotected," said the CCF as quoted by TOI.
The mother keeps her cubs in a secluded nest until they are about six to eight weeks old, being regularly moved from nest to nest to avoid detection by predators. The mother will care for her cubs for a year and a half.
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