Decades after the species was declared extinct in India, eight cheetahs scurried into Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
More will follow, but these first eight – flown in from Namibia – represent a large feather in India’s cap to restore lost treasure. They are kept in an enclosed area to acclimate to the local environment before being released outside and monitored with tracking collars.
Why we wrote this
Supporters of India’s cheetah reintroduction project say they are driven by a sense of national responsibility. But others argue that the single-minded attempt to bring back the big cat is reckless rather than responsible.
SP Yadav, member of the secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and leader of the cheetah reintroduction project, says that “the only mammal that has been lost in independent India is the cheetah. So it becomes our moral and ethical responsibility to bring them back.”
However, the first transplant of its kind also has many critics. Some believe the $11 million project is a waste of taxpayers’ money, and wonder if the long-extinct species can thrive beyond captivity. Others believe India’s top priority should be protecting the species that still occur naturally on the subcontinent. including its endangered grassland habitats.
For Anish Andheria, President of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, the success of the project depends on whether it helps raise awareness and funds to protect the grassland biome. “Otherwise, adding another carnivore… won’t solve much.”
The world’s fastest land animal is making its way back to India – slowly.
On September 17, decades after the species was declared extinct on the subcontinent and 13 years after conservation efforts began to reintroduce the big cat, eight African cheetahs scurried into Kuno National Park in central India’s Madhya Pradesh.
More are to come, conservationists say, but these eight — five females and three males — represent a large feather in India’s cap to restore lost treasure. However, the world’s first transplant from Namibia also has many critics. Some believe the $11 million project is a waste of taxpayers’ money, and wonder if the long-extinct species can thrive beyond captivity.
Why we wrote this
Supporters of India’s cheetah reintroduction project say they are driven by a sense of national responsibility. But others argue that the single-minded attempt to bring back the big cat is reckless rather than responsible.
But proponents say they have a responsibility to try.
“The only mammal lost in independent India is the cheetah. Therefore, it becomes our moral and ethical responsibility to bring them back,” says SP Yadav, member of the secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and leader of the cheetah reintroduction project.
He hopes the project will also be an inspiration to other countries that have lost important animals.
Historical milestone
Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952, just five years after the country gained independence from Britain. That same year, plans for resettlement began.
There are fewer than 8,000 cheetahs in the world today, including about a dozen Asiatic cheetahs, a more slender subspecies that once roamed India and is now found only in Iran. In the 1970s, India tried to get Asiatic cheetahs from Iran in exchange for Asiatic lions, but negotiations fell through after the Shah was deposed.
The current plan to use African cheetahs has been in the works since 2009.
The imported cats were joined by wildlife experts, veterinarians and biologists during their transcontinental flight from Namibia to the Indian city of Gwalior, where they were helicoptered to Kuno National Park, a sprawling sanctuary populated with prey including antelope and wild boar. India’s Environment Ministry says this is the first time a large carnivore has been transported across continents to establish a new population.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who released the cheetahs into the park, called their arrival a “historic” moment for India.
Yadvendradev Jhala, dean of the Wildlife Institute of India and one of the experts tasked with this conservation initiative, says they have permission to acquire 20 cheetahs – eight from Namibia and 12 more from South Africa – who will arrive in Kuno National Park later this year .
The Indian government plans to introduce at least 50 cheetahs to various national parks over the next five years.
First they are kept in an electrified enclosed area to allow them to acclimate to the local environment before being released outdoors. The Namibian cats have been fitted with tracking collars and are under 24-hour surveillance by officials.
“India now has the economic and scientific capabilities… to restore our natural heritage,” says Dr. Jhala, adding that the causes of their initial extinctions – mainly overhunting – were addressed by strict legislation. He expects that cheetah recovery will boost ecotourism and local livelihoods.
But not everyone is on board.
“Fatally flawed”
Indian conservationist and big cat expert Valmik Thapar says the project is “fatally flawed” because the country lacks the vast habitat or wild prey needed to sustain a significant cheetah population.
“Even in the best cheetah country, the Serengeti cheetahs struggle,” he says. “So what’s the point of bringing them to India if you don’t want them in captive pens?”
The cheetahs are expected to remain in enclosures where they are fed for three months. “The problem will arise after three months when they are released and have to hunt forest deer or encounter leopards and hyenas,” says Mr Thapar.
Others believe that government’s first responsibility should be to protect the species that still occur naturally on the subcontinent, including those that occur in its vanishing grasslands.
Abi Tamim Vanak, a wildlife biologist, says the cheetah project has been “touted as an important opportunity” to save India’s endangered savannah ecosystems, but organizers have yet to come up with a clear plan on how to conserve these biomes outside of the protected reserves.
This also throws cheetahs into an ever-shrinking habitat.
“The government has stuck to the old ‘fortress’ conservation model,” he says, referring to the controversial belief that conservation is best achieved by creating separate spaces for people and wildlife. Authorities are bringing cheetahs “to what will remain only glorified safari parks for the foreseeable future,” says Dr. Vanak.
grassland restoration
Proponents hope that grassland restoration and cheetah repopulation will thrive together.
“If the cheetah wasn’t there, there wasn’t much motivation to protect the grassland habitat,” says Dr. Yadav, the leader of the project. “Now that you have a charismatic species, there is an urge to protect this landscape. … I am 100% sure this will help revive other endangered species.”
For Anish Andheria, President of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, the project’s success depends on whether it results in an increase in the country’s grassland habitats.
“If the cheetahs can be used to get funds to protect grasslands and we can expand the grasslands in the next 10-12 years, then the cheetah [program] would have served its purpose,” he says. “But other than that, adding another carnivore… won’t solve much.”
