1st year anniversary of India’s Project Cheetah which is cheetah reintroduction programme was observed with the 1st batch of 8 cheetahs from Namibia arrived on September 17, 2022.
Key Points
- In 2022, the Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change has launched the ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’ under which 50 of these big cats will be introduced in the next five years.
- In September 2022, eight cheetahs were introduced to India from Namibia
- In February 2023, twelve cheetahs arrived in Madhya Pradesh from South Africa at the Kuno National Park (KNP), five months after the first batch of eight of these fastest land animals arrived from Namibia.
- The purpose of the Cheetah introduction project in India is to build a healthy cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to execute its functional role as a top predator and provides opportunity for the cheetah to expand within its historic range.
What is Project Cheetah?
- Project Cheetah is India’s cheetah relocation programme.
- This is the first intercontinental reintroduction of a wild, large carnivore species.
- The project is to bring in 5-10 animals every year, over the next decade, until a self-sustaining population of cheetahs is established.
- The animals brought from Namibia and South Africa are the Southeast African cheetahs.
- Under Project Cheetah, the animals are translocated from the forests of South Africa and Namibia to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is the apex body entrusted with the implementation of Project Cheetah.
- NTCA comes under the Ministry of forest, environment and climate change.
- The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is also assisting the Indian government in reintroducing cheetahs in India.
Status of Project Cheetah
- In total, 20 adult African cheetahs have been imported so far. In late March 2023, one of the females gave birth to a litter of four cubs which were conceived in India.
- So far, only 12 of the 20 cheetahs were ever released into the wild, with a few being brought back multiple times to the Kuno National Park (KNP), since the managers felt that the cats were moving into areas that may have posed risks for their survival.
- Six of the cheetahs which came from Africa have died. Four while still in captivity and two in the wild.
- Four of the adult cheetahs are yet to be released to run free even for a single day. Additionally, three of the four cubs have died and the only remaining cub is being hand reared as its mother has rejected it.
- Since the deaths of the three cheetahs in July-August, all 10 of the remaining free cheetahs have been captured and kept captive in enclosures for observation, removal of radio-collars and treatment.
- Currently, all the surviving 14 adult cheetahs and one cub are in captivity and there is talk of them being radio-collared again and released once the winter sets in
Reasons Behind Cheetah Mortality
- The first cheetah which died is said to have perished due to a renal condition.
- One of the females died when authorities attempted to get the cheetah to mate inside the enclosure.
- Three of the four cubs born in India are reported to have died due to heatwave conditions.
- One of the males is reported to have died due to cardio-pulmonary failure
- The last three deaths occurred during the monsoon. While there have been several conflicting reports regarding the cause of their deaths, no definitive cause has been shared in the public domain.
Cheetahs in India
- Cheetah is one of the world’s most-recognizable cats, known especially for its speed.
- In India, the cheetah population used to be fairly widespread.
- The cheetah is believed to have disappeared from the Indian landscape in 1947 because of Over-hunting, decimation of its relatively narrow prey base species and loss of its grassland-forest habitat.
- The cheetah was officially declared extinct by the Indian government in 1952.
- Since the 1940s, the cheetah has gone extinct in 14 other countries – Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Syria, Oman, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Ghana, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Action Plan for Cheetah Reintroduction in Indian States
- Quarantine for 30 days in a predator-proof enclosure at the site of release.
- Monitor animals for manifestation of any sickness as per the regulation of import of live animals under the Livestock-Importation Act, 1898.
- Do a scientific assessment to establish the prevalence of potential carnivore pathogens/diseases at the release sites.
- The selection of animals suitable for release will be verified by CTF/WII after necessary vaccinations and health checks.
- Separation of male coalitions and females in adjoining compartments so that they can know each other before release.
- Radio-collared male (coalitions) would be released from the holding enclosure first after an appropriate period (1 to 2 months).
- The females shall be released, after radio collaring, 1-4 weeks after the males.
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