(12-03-2018, 07:29 AM)Rishi Wrote: Owing to the critical situation Asiatic cheetahs of Iran are in, bringing Saharan or Sudan cheetahs would've made most sense... given the new studies suggest that they may be the same sub-species as Asiatic Cheetahs!

As per the official site of IUCN Redlist: 
"The review by Krausman and Morales (2005) included Cheetahs from the northern Sahara in venaticus. The type locality of A. j. venaticus is unknown. At a November 2006 meeting of the North African Region Cheetah Action Group (NARCAG), Belbachir (2007) recommended genetic studies to clarify whether the Cheetahs of Algeria (which probably has the largest Saharan Cheetah population) should be classified as A. j. hecki or A. j. venaticus." (Source)

Much of their range is facing political turmoil & India can promise them a better future...

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Also, a tiny population of rewilded NorthEast African cheetahs are living in Sir BaniYas island for repopulating project in UAE that as seen tremendous success in its baby steps. One of their females had even had a litter of four, while cheetahs are difficult to breed even in captivity!
They are part of a breeding project in Djibouti Cheetah Refuge, & an EEP in European zoos.

The female Sudan Cheetah "Safiya" with her cubs in Sir Bani Yas Island.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Neither countries have a complicated relationship with India. With some will & coordination, India could get her hands on first & second best options for reintroducing cheetahs in India...

*This image is copyright of its original author

Quote:On the eve of the International Cheetah Day marked on December 4, the head of Iran’s Department of Environment (DoE) says efforts are underway to save Asiatic (Iranian) cheetahs through tissue culture, the growth of tissues or cells separate from the organism.

*This image is copyright of its original author

• Kuno Palpur, Nauradehi in "Madhya Pradesh",
• Velavadar National Park in "Gujarat" and
• Tal Chapar sanctuary in "Rajasthan".
  

Quote:"A male cheetah hunts every two to five days, while a female with cubs hunts daily."

It is almost certain now that these spotted animals will never be sighted in the wild again in India. 

• Just as the tiger is the flagship species of the forest, the cheetah is the flagship and keystone species of the grasslands, scrublands and open forests. Therefore, with the reintroduction of the cheetah, these critically endangered Indian dryland ecosystems of India will have a chance to return to their natural state.
• Being a top carnivore with other predators like Lion and wolf, the cheetah is a major evolutionary force that shapes ecosystem functions and enhances species diversity.
• The cheetah is part of our (Indian) heritage :-
  

1.      1.  It is the only large mammal that has been declared extinct in India in recent history.     2.  It is extensively mentioned in Indian literature, with the word ‘cheetah’ itself originating from the Sanskrit word ‘chitraka’ which means ‘speckled one’.     3.  Indian rulers, especially the Mughals, kept cheetahs as pets and used them for hunting. Emperor Akbar, for example, maintained a stable of over one thousand cheetahs but they              barely bred in the captivity. (such a waste!)

• A task force for Project Cheetah is being created which will continue its assessments regarding the reintroduction of the cheetah.
• Further scientific surveys will be conducted in the designated project sites to provide a detailed report on their suitability as cheetah habitat, and road maps for their eco restoration will be developed.
• Discussions and negotiations with countries which currently host cheetah populations will be carried out to obtain suitable cheetah individuals for Project Cheetah.
  

1. Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognised as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions. The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times. India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons. With this context, a consultative meeting of global experts was held at Gajner in September, 2009. A consensus was reached at this meeting for conducting a detailed survey in selected sites to explore the potential of reintroducing the cheetah in India. The Honourable Minister of Environment and Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh, mandated the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India with this task.
    
2. In this report we assess 10 sites from seven landscapes located in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, for their potential to harbour viable reintroduced cheetah populations. We conduct field surveys to collect data on prey abundances, local community dependencies on forest resources and their attitudes towards wildlife, and use remotely-sensed data to assess habitat size. We compute current and potential carrying capacity of the sites to support cheetah as well as assess the long-term viability of the introduced population, using Population Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA).
3. Amongst the seven surveyed landscapes, the landscape that contained Sanjay National Park, Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary and Guru Ghasidas National Park was the largest, covering over 12,500 km2. It is in this landscape that the cheetah continued to survive till after India’s Independence. However, today this landscape is characterised by "low prey densities", probably due to poaching by tribal communities that reside within the protected areas. The three protected areas were currently estimated to have the capacity to support about 14 cheetah. With restorative and managerial inputs under the Project Tiger scheme available for Sanjay National Park and Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary, these protected areas are likely to improve and could potentially support over 30 cheetah, while the landscape could hold upto 60 individuals We recommend that Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh also be considered under the Project Tiger scheme as it is well connected with Sanjay National Park and Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary. We recommend that this landscape be restored and re-evaluated before considering cheetah reintroduction here in the future.
4. Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Sheopur-Shivpuri forested landscape, which had the second largest area (6,800 km2) amongst the surveyed sites. This site was "rated high" on the priority list for considering the reintroduction of the cheetah, because a lot of restorative investment has already been made here for introducing the Asiatic lions. The Protected Area was estimated to have a current capacity to sustain 27 cheetah, which could be enhanced to over 32 individuals by addition of some more forested areas (120 km2) to the Kuno Sanctuary and managing the surrounding 3,000 km2 forested habitat as a buffer to the Kuno Sanctuary. Once a cheetah population establishes itself within the Sanctuary, dispersers would colonize the landscape and potentially hold over 70 individuals. This would not preclude the reintroduction of the lion once the cheetah population is established and the two introductions would complement each other. Indeed, Kuno offers the prospect of all the four large forest felids of India to coexist as they did in the past.
5. The Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary (1197 km2) in Madhya Pradesh is part of a forested landscape of 5,500 km2. Cheetah prey densities were reasonable in this area and the site was considered favourable to be considered for a reintroduction. Based on current (2010) prey densities the area could support 25 cheetah. We recommend the designation of 750 km2 as a core area of the sanctuary and relocate about 23 human settlements from the core (done) with generous and adequate compensation. Our assessment indicates that the local communities would prefer to relocate for better livelihood and modern facilities. The site could then support over 50 cheetah as a source population, while the Nauradehi landscape could harbour over 70 individuals.
6. Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh and Bagdara Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh formed a continuous habitat. However, potential cheetah habitat in this area was small (less than 500 km2), as much of the land is under agriculture. Though the prey densities were reasonably high due to good management and law enforcement, the site was not considered further due to its small size and as it was likely to have a high level of conflict with an introduced cheetah population.
7. The Shahgarh landscape on the international border in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan was found to be suitable for introducing cheetah. As the area is fenced along the international border, we propose to additionally fence off the bulge area by constructing another 140 km long chain-link fence, so as to encompass about 4000 km2 of xerophytic habitat. Within this area about 80 seasonally used human settlements, each having 5-10 households, would need to be relocated with adequate and generous compensation and alternate arrangements provided. Though the prey species diversity was less (primarily chinkara) in Shahgarh, the area could currently support about 15 cheetah and had the potential to sustain 40 cheetah with habitat management within the large fenced ecosystem.
8. Desert National Park in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, was reasonably large (3162 km2) with a fairly good prey availability. However, the area is heavily grazed by livestock and is the last stronghold for the great Indian bustard. The introduced cheetah are likely to come into severe conflict with local communities and may be a potential threat to the endangered great Indian bustard. For this reason the Desert National Park was not considered ideal for cheetah reintroduction.
9. Banni grasslands and Kachchh Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat cover a vast arid landscape of which over 5800 km2 could be considered as potential cheetah habitat. The wild prey abundance was extremely low with no current potential for considering introduction of a large carnivore. However, the area has potential and with restoration, livestock grazing management and law enforcement the area could bounce back and could potentially support over 50 cheetah. If the "Gujarat Government" takes serious steps to restore this landscape, then the site could be re-evaluated at a later date.
10. Based on the above assessment, we recommend that cheetah could potentially be reintroduced at i) Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh ii) Shahgarh Landscape in Jaisalmer, and iii) Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh. All the three sites require preparation and resource investments to commence an introduction program. Long-term commitment of political will, resources and personnel is required from the Central and State Governments to implement this project successfully.
11. Depending on the availability of suitable animals and a continued supply, we propose to source cheetah from sites in Africa (Namibia). We also propose collaboration with the Government of Iran and the world conservation community in assisting with the conservation of the Iranian cheetah, so as to reduce its risk of extinction and to re-establish viable wild populations.
12. Cheetah reintroduction would greatly enhance tourism prospects, especially at the sites, the cascading effects of which would benefit the local communities. Cheetah as a flagship would evoke a greater focus on the predicament of the much abused dry-land ecosystems and the need to manage them, which would benefit pastoralism in India where the largest livestock population in the world resides, the large majority of it being free-ranging.
13. As a way ahead, we propose that the Government of India and the concerned State Governments approve of the sites recommended in this report and commence allocation of resources, personnel and restorative actions for a reintroduction program. Once approved, a more detailed study of the selected sites and of the costing of the project would have to be undertaken and project implementation could there after commence.
14. The venture must be viewed not simply as an introduction of a species, however charismatic it may be, but as an endeavour to better manage and restore some of our most valuable yet most neglected ecosystems (arid) and the species dependent upon them.
    
    
    *This image is copyright of its original author
    
    

• MP govt seeks revival of cheetah reintroduction project
  
• African countries agree to jointly save four carnivore species
• Deaths of lions in Gujarat's Gir sanctuary 'very serious', look into it: SC tells Centre
• Virus spread leading to death of lions at Gir fully under control: Govt to SC
• Royal Bengal Tiger dead in Odisha, translocation halted
  
  

Quote:The National Tiger Conservation Authority Friday informed the Supreme Court that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has given no objection for translocation of cheetahs in India from Namibia in Africa.

Quote:The study, which will soon be published in an international journal, will surely be a shot in the arm for the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC), which has been striving to reintroduce the African cheetahs in India for quite some time.

Quote:"We began working on this "since 2014" and after a detailed study, we can argue that Indian cheetah was very similar to its African counterpart and hence the big cats can be imported from Africa. They can survive in India easily. We will soon publish our paper in an international journal and will accordingly write to the Centre, urging them to take up the matter," said Niraj Rai, senior scientist of the Lucknow-based BSIP.

Quote:It may be mentioned that the centre's argument for reintroduction of the big cats is presently pending before the Supreme Court with the latter stating that the government must give priority to protect Asiatic lions, an endangered species and to provide them a second home.

(02-04-2019, 12:22 PM)Lycaon Wrote: Both india and iran should work on that lion cheethah exchange again.

Quote:@Lycaon

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I don't really like the idea of introducing african cheetahs in india.