CHEETAH CALLING

In an effort to reintroduce cheetahs to India, 50 of them will be translocated from Namibia and South Africa. This is the first such effort to relocate them and the first batch will stay in Kuno National Park, MP

- Abhilash Kumar Singh

CHEETAH, the world's fastest animal, which became extinct in the 1950s from the subcontinent, is all set to make a comeback to Indian jungles. These animals are native to Africa and Asia. In 2009, the government tried to procure the Asiatic cheetah from Iran. When the plan did not materialise, the government turned to Namibia. In 2010, researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and the Wildlife Trust of India, Noida, assessed this plan's feasibility, identified possible reintroduction sites and weighed its benefits.

Recently, the environment minister, Bhupendra Yadav, announced that as many as 50 cheetahs would be translocated over the next five years from South Africa and Namibia. He tweeted: “The cheetah that became extinct in independent India, is all set to return. Launched an action plan for reintroduction of cheetah in India at the 19th meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority” (NTCA).

This is the first such effort to relocate cheetahs. Initially, the plan was to reintroduce cheetahs in 2021. However, it got delayed due to Covid-19. The idea to bring back the species was first conceived in 2009.

Translocation of species is often prone to failure. While re-located species struggle to survive in a new habitat, in some cases, they turn invasive, affecting the local ecosystem. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the genetic divergence of Indian and African cheetahs goes back to 72,000 years, making them a distinct subspecies.

Cheetahs, however, are said to be highly adaptable animals and settle well in new habitats. One such example of successful relocation comes from Malawi in East Africa. Malawi translocated four cheetahs in 2017 after they became extinct in the late 1980s. It now hosts at least 24 of them.