One Year of Project Cheetah

Why in news?

Recently, 1 year anniversary of India’s cheetah reintroduction programme was observed with the 1^st batch of 8 cheetahs from Namibia arrived on September 17, 2022.

Why is the cheetah being brought back?

• Asiatic cheetahs – Once abundant in India, cheetah was officially declared extinct by the Indian government in 1952.
  • Reasons - Over-hunting, decimation of its relatively narrow prey base species and loss of its grassland-forest habitat.
• Cheetah Reintroduction– India carried out negotiations with Iran in 1970s for reintroducing Asiatic Cheetah but it didn’t take off.
• In 2009, a plan was endorsed to reintroduce Cheetahs in India but it was shot down by the Supreme Court.
• Later, in 2020, the Supreme Court cleared the move on an experimental basis.
• Need for introduction– To establish a viable cheetah metapopulation in India and provides space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range.
• As it is a flagship species, the conservation of the cheetah will revive grassland-forests habitat.

What is Project Cheetah?

• Project Cheetah is India’s cheetah relocation programme and the 1^st intercontinental reintroduction of a wild, large carnivore species.
• Aim- To bring in 5-10 animals every year, over the next decade, until a self-sustaining population of cheetahs is established.
• Reintroduction- The African cheetahs are translocated from the forests of South Africa and Namibia to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
• Implementing body - The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and And Climate Change
• Assisted by - The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF)

To know more about Cheetah reintroduction programme, click here

Why are the reasons attributed to the death of Cheetahs?

• Premedical condition – The 1^st cheetah which died is said to have a renal condition even before translocation.
• Extreme weather conditions – The death of the cubs born in India are attributed to heat wave conditions.
• Captive conditions – One of the females died when authorities attempted to get the cheetah to mate inside the enclosure.
• Organ failure –Cardio-pulmonary failure is another cause but what caused it has still not been determined.
• Unknown causes – The last three deaths occurred during the monsoon with no definite cause.

What are the issues associated?

• Higher quarantine time – It took more than 50 days for the first two cheetahs and more than 70 days for the last of the eight cheetahs to be released into larger enclosure.
• It is not clear if scientific assessments of prevalence of diseases were carried out and what the results were, as there is nothing in the public domain.
• Faulty selection process – It allowed the import of animals which were ill and behaviorally unfit for release in the wild.
• 3 of the eight cheetahs that were part of the first batch of cheetahs from Namibia, did not meet the criteria prescribed in the Action Plan.
• No separation of male and female – Certain events like the birth of a litter, the fatal mauling of a female by two males and the death of a male while a female was in the same enclosure was against the given norms.
• Implementation failure – Neither the mentioned timelines nor the stated sequence of release has been followed.
• Impact on other endangered species – It probably diverted financial resources from much needed conservation projects like the Great Indian Bustard and the translocation of Asiatic lions.
• Habitat conservation- Given the challenges that the cheetahs have faced in surviving even in captivity and the lack of suitable habitats for them, using African cheetahs to conserve grasslands and grassland-dependent species is clearly a faulty strategy.

What lies ahead?

• Need to incorporate the best available scientific knowledge in planning, implementation and monitoring of a project of this scale.
• Focus on the establishment of high-quality habitats covering at least 5,000 square kilometres before bringing more cheetahs from Africa.

Cheetahs are a low-density species, existing at best at 1-2 per 100 sq km and with a unique spatial ecology. The introduced cheetahs will need about 5,000 sq km of good-quality habitat to establish a viable population in India.

• Make wider consultation involving scientists and conservationists.
• Authorities need to reassess the approach to prevent deaths, especially when the animals are in captivity.
• Be cognizant of the effects of long periods of captivity on the fitness of these cats to be released to run free in the wild.
• Need to determine if the African cheetahs are susceptible to certain insects and parasites in India, and if the radio collars provide a micro-environment conducive for these to thrive.

References

1. The Hindu| One year report of Project Cheetah
2. IE| Deviations from Action Plan