Cheetah Reintroduction in India

[Acinonyx sp.]

Rajasthan, Gujarat look to beat MP in hosting cheetahs

The Supreme Court last week allowed the Centre to take a call on the introduction after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) sought its permission for introducing the cheetah from Namibia.

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A male African cheetah released at his enclosure at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad.

Rajasthan and Gujarat are hoping the African cheetah would be introduced to suitable habitats in the two states as one of the three places--Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary--chosen for the purpose a decade back may no longer be suitable for it in the absence of necessities like a proper prey base.

The Supreme Court last week allowed the Centre to take a call on the introduction after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) sought its permission for introducing the cheetah from Namibia. The top court had put on hold the plan when then Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh envisaged it almost 10 years back. The last Indian cheetah became extinct around 70 years back.

Madhya Pradesh officials said Kuno Palpur now has a tiger, lesser grasslands and fewer chinkara and blackbucks, the prey base necessary for the survival the Cheetah, the fastest animal on the planet. Their counterparts in Gujarat and Rajasthan insisted habitats in their states having better grasslands and better prey base.
An expert panel had selected Kuno Palpur, Gujarat’s Velavadar Black Buck Sanctuary and National Park and Tal Chhapar Sanctuary (Rajasthan) for the African cheetah’s introduction.


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