Cheetahs could return to India after being ‘hunted to extinction’ 70 years ago
Animals are considered vulnerable species
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Your support makes all the difference.India could see its first cheetahs return to the wild following seven decades of extinction, according to local media.
The Supreme Court has reportedly ruled that the animals – a vulnerable species whose population is declining - can be moved to the country from Namibia as part of an experiment.
Jairam Ramesh, the former environment minister, said he was “delighted” at the decision, after he initiated a push to reintroduce cheetahs a decade ago.
He said the animal is the “only mammal hunted to extinction in modern India”.
The project will be monitored to see whether African cheetahs can adapt to the Indian habitat, according to local media.
The animals are considered a threatened species, with a population of less than 7,000 in the wild, according to conservationists.
The vast majority of cheetahs now live in Africa, while the Asiatic cheetah subspecies has a population of around 100 in Iran and is considered critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has now won their challenge to reintroduce the species to India and has its sights set on the Kuno Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, a central Indian state, for the cheetahs’ potential new home, according to the Times of India.
“NTCA will be guided by the committee of experts who will cary out a survey for the best location,” said Parveen Kaswan from the Indian Forest Service.
“Most probably from Namibia to MP [Madhya Pradesh].”
Cheetahs became extinct in India in the 1950s, Mr Kaswan said.
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