Over 70 years after extinction, eight African cheetahs—five female and three male—from Namibia were released at the Kuno National Park, in Madhya Pradesh on September 17, 2022. They are between the age of four and six years. This is the first time in the world that a large carnivore has been relocated from one continent to another. A part of India’s Rs 90 crore ‘Cheetah Introduction Project’, more cheetahs are expected from South Africa. Asiatic Cheetah was the native Indian cheetah species which went extinct in 1952. Currently, only Iran has 12 Asiatic cheetahs in the world. Africa has a strong cheetah population of over 7,000.
Since the 1940s, the cheetah has gone extinct in 14 other Asian countries—Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Syria, Oman, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Ghana, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), consisting of both government and civil society organisations, cheetahs are mainly present in southern African countries as of now, such as Algeria, Botswana, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, among others.
Why the Need
The Cheeta Introduction Project aims not only to restore India’s ‘historic evolutionary balance’, but also to develop cheetah metapopulation, for their global conservation which would revive grassland forests, its biome, and habitat.
The cheetah is believed to have originated in South Africa and spread across the world through land connectivity. Once critically endangered in Kalahari due to poaching and hunting, cheetah now faces the shortage of space for its population with healthy female cheetahs producing five to six cubs each. According to the IUCN, rapid growth in Africa’s human population would be the most serious challenge for the conservation of cheetah over the next few decades.
Translocation of Cheetahs
Before the translocation of the cheetahs to India, both the Namibian and South African cheetahs were quarantined in ‘Bomas’ (enclosures) temporarily for treatment. Extensive health check-ups were carried out for the detection of diseases and all necessary vaccination was completed. The cheetahs were radio collared. The cheetahs were not tranquilised for the journey and were fed before starting their journey, accompanied in the chartered Boeing 747 cargo flight, by a team of three veterinarians (Indian, Namibian, and South African). Cheetahs were brought to Jaipur airport and were airlifted in helicopters to the Kuno National Park.
As per international norms, wild animals must be kept in quarantine for a month to check the spread of any infection before and after their translocation to another country. The cheetahs were first released into separate quarantine enclosure of 1,500 square metres for a one-month period. This was to ensure their adaptation to the new environment. After 50 days, the two were released into a bigger enclosure of 6 square kilometre and remained there till the time they took to adapt. Thereafter, they would be released into the Kuno National Park.
Though cheetahs have not been known to attack humans, animal-human conflict is still anticipated. They would, however, attack livestock. So, local villagers have been apprised and ‘cheetah mitras’ have been appointed to keep a watch on the animals. Leopards found in the area of cheetah’s enclosure have also been removed, as they could be potential threat to the cheetahs.
Besides, expert teams from both Namibia and South Africa had also visited Kuno to oversee the arrangements and train the Indian forest officers and wildlife experts on handling, breeding, rehabilitation, medical treatment, and conservation of cheetahs.
Indian scenario The cheetah has an ancient history in India as is evident from the Neolithic cave paintings at Chaturbunj Nala, in Madhya Pradesh. They were found in Jaipur and Lucknow from the north, Mysore from the south, Kathiawar from the west, and Deogarh from the east. The last cheetah is believed to have died in India, in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947. Cheetahs were declared extinct by the government in 1952 due to overhunting, land conversion into agricultural fields, loss of their sources of prey, etc.
Apart from that, climate change further changed the habitats of cheetahs.
Earlier Attempts to Bring Cheetah Back to India
India’s first attempt to bring back the cheetah was in the early 1970s but due to the imposition of Emergency, Cheetahs could not be brought.
Then, there were plans to reintroduce cheetahs in India in 2009. However, the SC overturned the idea in 2013. The idea was revived in 2017 by the Narendra Modi government. The SC cleared the move in 2020 on an experiment basis and directed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to introduce African cheetahs in Indian habitats.
Why the Selection of Kuno National Park
Six sites—Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve and Shergarh Wildlife Sanctuary (both in Rajasthan), Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kuno National Park, Madhav National Park, and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary (in Madhya Pradesh)—were assessed by the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010 for translocation of the Asiatic Lions. These sites were re-assessed in 2020.
Kuno had been monitored since 2006, and was found to be ready to receive the cheetahs immediately as it had already been prepared for the Asiatic Lion.
Also, in Kuno National Park, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department had already relocated 24 of the 25 villages because of the lion relocation project and declared it a national park. Hence, there was no investment to be made for site upgradation unlike the other five sites. Apart from the healthy prey base of Kuno—a healthy population of chital, sambar, nilgai, wild pig, chinkara, and other cattle, the park has an estimated capacity to sustain 21 cheetahs. Around 700 more herbivores have also been introduced to the area.
Above all, the rainfall levels, temperatures, altitude, and conditions in Kuno are similar to those in both South Africa and Namibia. The park spans an area of 740 square km and is a part of the Kuno Wildlife Division, which has an area of 1,235 square km. The leopard and striped hyena are currently the only larger carnivores within the Kuno National Park.
Concerns and Challenges
According to critics, the gene flow in such a small group of cheetahs is a matter of concern. Gene flow between populations could help in maintaining genetic diversity and prevent inbreeding, which is especially important for small and fragmented habitats. So, over the next 5 to 10 years, 5 to 10 cheetahs would be relocated to India annually. This would also ensure healthy gene flow.
Experts are also apprehensive about a possible conflict between leopards and cheetahs in the national park as there is high density of leopards in Kuno. However, both the animals have a history of co-existence in South Africa, Namibia, and India. Lack of enough area, prey base in India, low survival rates of cubs, animal-human conflict are some other issues.
Way Forward
Indian government intends to establish a breeding cheetah metapopulation of 35–40 in the country. Once the population in Kuno has adapted and is flourishing, the Indian government would expand its efforts to reserve cheetahs in other parts of the country as well.
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