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Concern Over Moving African Cheetahs to India: Study

Last updated on March 6th, 2025 Posted on February 20, 2025 by NEXT IAS Current Affairs Team  559

Syllabus: GS3/Environment and Conservation

Context

  • A new study by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), has expressed concern over the translocation of the African cheetahs to India.

About

  • The study examines the ethical, ecological and welfare challenges associated with the translocation of African cheetahs to India.
  • Project Cheetah Overview: 20 African cheetahs (8 from Namibia in Sept 2022, and 12 from South Africa in Feb 2023) were introduced into Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India.
    • Importation Plans: Plans to import 12 cheetahs annually until a viable population is established.

Major Highlights 

  • Challenges Faced by Cheetahs: The cheetahs have experienced significant stress, with over 90 immobilisations and frequent veterinary care.
    • The mortality rate was 40%-50% in the first phase of the project, far below the expected survival rate of 85%.
    • The project has raised concerns about the physical and mental health of the cheetahs due to their ongoing stress.
  • Challenges of the Project:
    • Conservation Challenges: African cheetah populations are already at risk, with only around 6,500 mature individuals left in the wild.
    • Sustainability Issues: Reliance on continuous imports from Africa is seen as ecologically unsustainable and ethically problematic.
Cheetah
– Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), is one of the world’s most-recognizable cats, known especially for its speed. In India, the cheetah population used to be fairly widespread.
– The cheetah is believed to have disappeared from the Indian landscape in 1947 when Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya princely state hunted down and shot the last three recorded Asiatic cheetahs in India. 
1. The cheetah was officially declared extinct by the Indian government in 1952.
– Since the 1940s, the cheetah has gone extinct in 14 other countries – Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Syria, Oman, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Ghana, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Reason for Extinction
– Over-hunting was a major contributing factor.
– The decimation of its relatively narrow prey base species and 
– The loss of its grassland-forest habitat.

Difference between Asiatic Cheetah and African Cheetah

Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus)African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)
IUCN status: critically endangered.IUCN status: vulnerable.
Distribution: Less than 50 cheetahs are left in the wild.Distribution: Around 6,500-7,000 African cheetahs are present in the wild.
Characteristics: Smaller and paler than the African cheetah.Characteristics: They are bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah.

Suggestions

  • Call for Justice-Informed Approach: Researchers advocate for a more inclusive and participatory conservation model, considering diverse knowledge systems, values, and local consent.
  • Focus on Sustainable Coexistence: Conservation efforts should aim at maintaining sustainable spaces for both humans and wildlife, rather than causing division and distress.

Source: TH

 
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