The Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India, has recently introduced an ‘Action Plan for the Introduction of Cheetah in India’. This plan is designed to reintroduce cheetahs into India, with plans to introduce 50 of these magnificent animals over the next five years. The action plan was announced at the 19th meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
Background
In 2021, the Supreme Court lifted a seven-year ban on a proposal to introduce African Cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat. The term ‘reintroduction’ refers to releasing a species into an area where it has the capability to survive. Large carnivores are increasingly being reintroduced as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions. The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been eliminated, primarily because of over-hunting in India.
Conservation Impact
Conserving cheetahs will help revive grasslands and their biomes and habitats, similar to how Project Tiger has rejuvenated forests and increased the numbers of various species. In the past, hunting, decreasing habitat areas, and insufficient availability of prey like black buck, gazelle, and hare led to the extinction of this species in India in 1952.
Reintroduction Action Plan
With contributions from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India, the ministry aims to translocate around 8-12 cheetahs from South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. These countries possess the largest populations of cheetahs. Kuno Palpur National Park in Madhya Pradesh has been identified as the release site due to its suitable habitat and abundant prey.
Additional Developments from the NTCA Meeting
The meeting also announced the launch of a Water Atlas, which maps all water bodies in tiger-bearing areas in India. The atlas, developed using remote sensing data and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, will provide crucial information to forest managers for future conservation strategies. Furthermore, fourteen tiger reserves have received accreditation under Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS), with more reserves being evaluated for accreditation.
About Cheetahs
Cheetahs are one of the oldest big cat species, tracing back to the Miocene era over five million years ago. They are the fastest land mammals and inhabit Africa and Asia. There are two main types of cheetahs, African and Asiatic, both with distinct characteristics. African Cheetahs are larger and darker, while Asiatic Cheetahs are smaller, paler, and are characterized by red eyes and a more cat-like appearance. African Cheetahs, classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), number between 6,500 to 7,000 in the wild, whereas only 40-50 Asiatic Cheetahs, classified as ‘Critically Endangered’, are found in Iran.