Cheetah Reintroduction in India

[Ashutosh]

From the evidence we have about Cheetah cubs, it appears that a very high percentage of cubs are killed by bigger predators in Africa and they have an absurdly high mortality rate of 90%. You don’t want them to be reintroduced only for other animals to target such cubs especially at 90% mortality rate. So, ideally Cheetahs should be introduced in areas with low numbers of big predators preferably away from habitats or potential habitats of any big cats. Personally, Desert national park seems like an ideal starting place. 

The preferred prey of Indian cheetahs used to be Blackbuck and Chinkara, both of whom I am guessing have dropped in their speed and manoeuvrability over the last century. And, both these are abundantly found in the Desert National Park. Reply