After cheetah Oban, Asha sneaks out of Kuno National Park

After Oban, Cheetah Asha, the one named by PM Narendra Modi too has sneaked out of the Kuno National Park. This comes amid officers frantic attempts for four days to get Asha's partner, Oban, back into the protected zone.

On Wednesday, the foresters were dismayed to discover that Asha had also left the sanctuary, while Oban continues to roam carefree in the villages around Kuno.

"Asha has been tracked moving in an easterly direction that will take her to Shivpuri district and into areas where humans haven't been told how to deal with cheetahs. She was located in a "territorial forest area outside Kuno", a Times of India report said.

As per the latest reports, Oban was continuing to move close to a village in the vicinity and was seen drinking water from the Kwari River.

According to Sheopur divisional forest officer PK Verma, this was a normal process for the animal. "The cheetah is staying away from the village and has reached there as the spot is adjoining the KNP. Its movement is being monitored through its collared device," he said.

Meanwhile, the officials are mulling to dart Oban in a bid to bring it back to the enclosure.

So far, four out of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia to KNP in September last year have been released into the wild (free range area) from hunting enclosures.

Oban and Asha were released into the wild on March 11, while Elton and Freddie, also known as "rockstars" due to their names, were allowed to move into the free-range area on March 22.

Eight Namibian cheetahs, comprising five females and three males, were brought to KNP as part of an ambitious reintroduction programme of the species and were released into special enclosures on September 17, 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

One of them, Sasha, died of a kidney ailment on March 27, while another, Siyaya, gave birth to four cubs and they were first spotted on March 29.

Another set of 12 cheetahs, comprising seven males and five females, were brought to KNP from South Africa on February 18 this year.