Telangana: This cheetah in Kawal sends chills down poachers’ spine

HYDERABAD: Cheetah’s day starts pretty much the same way as many of us — waking up, getting ready, having breakfast and reporting to work. But this courageous canine’s work is more than duty, it’s an oath to protect us under his watchful eye.
Recruited by Telangana government in December 2018, Cheetah is none other than a German Shepard who is part of the dog squad deployed in Jannaram division of the Kawal reserve since December 2018.
Since its recruitment, the dog squad helped in busting the poaching network to a large extent in Kawal Tiger Reserve, which is considered a global hub, conducive for survival of many big cats and the epicenter of a fierce battle to keep poachers at bay. The squad consists of Cheetah and its handler J. Satyanarayana and second handler S. Srinivas.
According to the handlers, the dog has so far helped in solving more than 13 cases of wildlife poaching and timber smuggling in and around the tiger reserve. “The poachers and smugglers who live in the surrounding villages are now very well aware that if Cheetah gets their scent, there is no way they can get away with their crime,” said J Satyanarayana, dog handler and forest beat officer, Jannaram division.
All the three members of the dog squad completed nine months of training at National Training Centre for Dogs, a Border Security Force academy located at Tekanpur in Gwalior of Madhya Pradesh. The forest deparment purchased Cheetah for Rs 35,000 and spends around Rs 12,000 per month for maintenance which includes its food and healthcare.
“Within a month after it was recruited, Cheetah solved a poaching case in Chintaguda beat compartment of Jannaram district. With the help of scent from a slipper which the poachers left near the kill, Cheetah traced the place where the villagers cooked its meat in one of the villages nearby,” Satyanarayana told TOI.
The Kawal tiger reserve is spread over 983 sq km of core and 1,123 sq km of buffer across Adilabad, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Nirmal districts. The dog squad usually travels to different place across the reserve depending on the incidents of illegal activities,” said Srinivas.