Cheetah Reintroduction in India

[Matias]

The issue of this introduction be endless soap opera.

Of the eight recently forwarded, 3 were or are being returned. Romeo Muyunda stated that: of the eight separate specimens, three did not feed alone. The EWT has a solid project, where consistent parameters are observed for any individual to be relocated, with a high prevalence of providing genetic plurality when establishing a set of metapopulations in the private reserves of South Africa. The Harnas and Otjiwarongo sanctuaries have a huge amount of rescued animals and the conduct of the agreement between the countries must have complicated the effective participation of the EWT. Surplus animals (that were about to be relocated) from private reserves participating in the project in SA would be more suitable than animals captured from “the conflict zone with Namibian farmers or taking healthy individuals from the wild to the stress of confinement”. From the outset, it seemed obvious to me that the group to be transferred would include animals of various origins: surplus, problematic and “rehabilitated.” A salad of animals unsuitable for a resettlement project.

The success issues of the EWT program in the Game Reserve participants is sensitive, there are many losses and gains. In short, it is a strategy that depends on careful and intensive human management of small populations in fenced environments. Currently, nearly 500 cheetahs are distributed across the 60 reserves of the Cheetah Metapopulation Project, so there are enough animals to collect and maintain future flows to Kuno Palpur.

Dr. Valmik spoke about adaptation issues, noting that the cheetahs in Kuno Palpur will face a horde of predators, constant human presence and ecological and environmental situations that are difficult to overcome. Cheetahs are fragile animals, only of the feral dogs will be a huge problem.

The contact between Indian conservation professionals and African conservationists is a stimulating enrichment of perspectives. Knowing the concepts that South Africa and Namibia have established to keep their predators will bring new conceptual visions, such as the observance in South Africa of the use of fences in the Game Reserve (private initiative) in a wide scope of Conservation, in which it is still totally ignored by conservation professionals in India. Cheetahs may not get along, which is true, but other benefits will come from the experience.

In the current conjuncture of Indian lands for wildlife, it is extremely unlikely that, without making adaptations experimented in Africa, it seems to me almost impossible to keep these predators without a constant flow and in good numbers of replacement specimens. As a side effect, it may set a precedent for future skewed translocations. The establishment of a metapopulation in India depends on multiple and joint actions concomitant with cheetah settlements on other Indian reserve.

Every day this project presents more and more problems. After all this effort… release them and let's believe in the possibility that some will survive after a year. Reply