India’s ambitious project to reintroduce cheetahs into its forests after their extinction is steadily moving forward, though it has faced some setbacks. The government is planning to release more cheetahs from their enclosure in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh into the wild by the end of October. Simultaneously, they are in talks with Kenya and other countries to acquire more of these majestic big cats.
The project, launched with much fanfare in 2022, has seen the deaths of at least eight adult cheetahs and several cubs. The most recent death was of a cheetah named Pawan in August. While the initial casualties have been managed, the biggest challenge remains keeping these cheetahs alive in their new environment. “The immunity power is better in new cubs in our atmosphere,” Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) minister Bhupendra Yadav acknowledged to reporters on Monday.
India has sourced cheetahs from Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania. Now, discussions are underway to secure more from Kenya. As part of the first-ever intercontinental translocation of cheetahs, 20 have been airfreighted to Kuno National Park – eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023. Currently, there are 24 cheetahs in the park, including 12 cubs.
The phased release of cheetahs into the wild is guided by the Cheetah project steering committee. Senior officials at a press briefing stated that the release will be implemented in stages by the end of October. “We will release a few cheetahs and observe their behavior before releasing the next batch, following the committee’s recommendations,” they explained.
The Gandhinagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh is being prepared as another home for cheetahs. Infrastructure is in place, and only a few aspects like prey-based augmentation and potential conflict management are being addressed. Once negotiations with South Africa and Kenya are finalized, cheetahs will be relocated to this sanctuary.
Looking beyond cheetahs, India is also planning to bring in female African elephants from Botswana and Zimbabwe to address the concerns raised by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Earlier this month, WAZA suspended the membership of the Delhi Zoo for six months due to concerns over the mistreatment of Shankar, a 29-year-old African elephant. “The issue was that we have a male African elephant. When testosterone levels of male elephants are high, their aggression level increases. Last year in September, when it became aggressive, it almost broke the enclosure wall. We had to tranquilize it,” explained an official.
The Ministry of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardan Singh, has written to African countries to obtain female elephants for pairing. “We cannot keep a single sex animal in a zoo. The social behavior of elephants is strong. Botswana and Zimbabwe have agreed to this initiative,” an official stated.
In another development, a census on riverine dolphins has been completed in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India. India has two sub-species – the Gangetic riverine dolphin, found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, and a smaller population in the Indus River.
India’s commitment to its cheetah reintroduction program remains strong. The challenges faced, particularly the deaths, underscore the complexities of this ambitious project. However, the government’s focus on securing more cheetahs, expanding their habitat, and collaborating with other countries demonstrates a determined effort to ensure the successful long-term conservation of these magnificent animals.
