Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary

Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary or Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (between latitudes of 25°30’- 25°53’N & longitude of 77°07’-77°26’E) lies in the Sheopur district of north western Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India. It is about 120 kilometres from Gwalior.

An area of 344.686 square kilometres was set aside as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1981. Since then this has been elevated to the Kuno Wildlife Division with an additional area of 900 square kilometres as a buffer area around the Sanctuary. The park is home to many species of wild animals including wolves, monkeys, leopards and nilgai and possibly a few remaining Bengal Tigers.

History

Wildlife Institute of India researchers confirmed that the Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary is the most promising location to re-establish a free ranging population of the Asiatic lions and certified it ready to receive it's first batch of translocated lions [ [http://journals.cambridge.org/production/action/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=851224 Preparations for the reintroduction of Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica into Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, India] by A.J.T. Johnsingh, S.P. Goyal, Qamar Qureshi; Cambridge Journals Online; Oryx (2007), 41: 93-96 Cambridge University Press; Copyright © 2007 Fauna & Flora International; doi:10.1017/S0030605307001512; Published online by Cambridge University Press 05Mar2007] from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary where they are highly overpopulated. There are large scale deaths in the population annually because of ever increasing competition between the human and animal overcrowding. Asiatic lion prides require large territories but there is limited space at Gir wildlife sanctuary, which is boxed in on all sides by heavy human habitation.

The Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was selected as the reintroduction site for critically endangered Asiatic lion because it is in the former range of the lions before it was hunted into extinction in about 1873. [Ravi Chellam and A.J.T. Johnsingh (1999), [http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/rsg/rsgcdrom/PDFs/RNews18.pdf Translocating Asiatic Lions, India] RE-INTRODUCTION NEWS No. 18, Page 11] It was selected following stringent international criteria and internationally accepted requirements & guidelines developed by IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group [IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group’s Re-introduction Guidelines: :1) [http://www.iucnsscrsg.org/images/IUCNPositionStatement.pdf IUCN Position Statement] on the Translocation of Living Organism. Approved by the 22nd Meeting of the IUCN Council in Gland, Switzerland on 4th September 1987.:2) [http://www.iucnsscrsg.org/images/Englishglines.pdf Guidelines for Re-introduction.] Update of original Position Statement approved at the 41st Meeting of IUCN Council in May 1995] and IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group [IUCN/SSC [http://www.cbsg.org/cbsg/ Conservation Breeding Specialist Group] ] which are followed before any reintroduction attempt anywhere in the world.

Asiatic lions

Currently the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project is underway. The lions are to be reintroduced from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in the neighboring Indian state of Gujarat where they are currently overpopulated. This has involved the displacement of twenty four villages of the Sahariya tribe, which had lived in the remote core area set aside for the reintroduction of the Asiatic lions, who agreed to move out. [ [http://www.forest.mp.gov.in/wildlife.html Voluntary Village Relocation Activity] , Forest Department, State Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, INDIA] Zoo-bred pair of asiatic lions from Hyderabad, one male from Bhopal and a female from Delhi will be introduced into the forest as Gujarat rejected the idea of Kuno being an alternate habitat for the asiatic lions. [ [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/Watch_out_another_Gir_grows_in_MP/articleshow/3307943.cms Watch out, another Gir grows in MP] ]

Feral cattle

Feral cattle also roam the sanctuary, left behind by the relocated Sahariya tribal herders. The cattle are intended to serve as buffer prey for Asiatic Lions until wild prey populations are revived. A.J.T. Johnsingh (2004) [http://www.wii.gov.in/publications/newsletter/winter04/wii%20in%20field.htm “Is Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary ready to play second home to Asiatic lions?] , published in the Newsletter of Wildlife Institute of India (WII)]

ee also

* In-situ conservation
* Ex-situ conservation
* List of Protected areas in India
* Wildlife conservation
* World Conservation Union (IUCN)

References

External links

* [http://sheopur.nic.in/kuno.htm Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary] (Webpage from the Indian Government's National Web Portal)
* [http://www.asiatic-lion.org/kuno.html "Kuno: Asiatic Lion's second home in making ["sic"] "] by Faiyaz A. Khudsar
* [http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/rsg/rsgcdrom/PDFs/RNews18.pdf "Translocating Asiatic Lions, India"] — August 1999. Contributed by Ravi Chellam and A.J.T. Johnsingh, Wildlife Institute of India. From "Re-introduction News" 18, August 1999, special carnivore issue (newsletter of the Re-introduction Specialist Group of IUCN's Species Survival Commission)
* [http://www.forest.mp.gov.in/kuno.html "Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary"] (re-introduction site of wild Asiatic Lions), Forest Department, State Government of Madhya Pradesh, India