By Sanjay Raman Sinha
As the streamlined lithe cheetah streaks across the jungle, it is sheer poetry in motion. Its well-chiseled body ripples with power and vitality and exudes an aura of invincibility. However, this feline prowess is under severe challenge in India as it fights a battle for survival in Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh where already nine cheetahs have succumbed in 130 days.
The story of these cheetahs is a tragic one. Twenty of them were brought from South Africa and Namibia to KNP in September last year and this February. Six cheetahs and three of the four cubs born here in March have died, leaving KNP with 14 cheetahs at present, including a cub. The deaths have raised serious questions over the ambitious Project Cheetah which aims to reintroduce this species which went extinct in India decades ago.
At a recent hearing in the Supreme Court, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra that the Project is one of its kind in the world for intercontinental translocation of wild animals and 14 out of 20 cheetahs are surviving. She said that the deaths happened because of hot and humid conditions in India in comparison to their earlier location in South Africa and Namibia. Bhati submitted that the deaths of six cheetahs and three cubs in KNP were not alarming as the survival rate of big cats is much lower. The government is ensuring the best possible veterinary support and healthcare, she said. The reply apparently assured the bench which refrained from interfering in the process, but observed that the mortality rate was not low.
This has not always been the case. The Court had earlier pulled up the government for the cheetah deaths. In an earlier hearing, the Court expressed concern over the death of three cheetahs in Kuno and asked the centre to rise above politics and consider shifting a few to Rajasthan. “It appears that Kuno is not sufficient for so many cheetahs… Why don’t you look for a suitable place in Rajasthan? Merely because Rajasthan is ruled by Opposition party does not mean you will not consider it,” a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol had told the centre. On March 28, a day after the first cheetah’s death at KNP, the apex court had requested details about the qualification and experience of experts in the Cheetah Task Force.
Cheetahs became extinct in India in 1952. Project Cheetah or “Action plan for the introduction of Cheetah in India” was launched to reintroduce the big cats in the country. To achieve this, India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Namibia and South Africa for cooperation in the field of cheetah conservation. Following this, eight cheetahs were transported from Namibia to India on September 17, 2022, and released into quarantine enclosures in KNP. Under the MoU with South Africa, 12 cheetahs (seven males and five females) were translocated to KNP on February 18, 2023.
However, relocating the foreign cheetahs to India was fraught with risks. This is evident from the fact that cheetahs are having a tough time adapting to Indian climatic conditions and dying.
The entire process of cheetah introduction in India was carried out under the expert guidance and supervision of international cheetah experts, scientists, veterinarians, forest officials and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in close coordination with committee appointed by the Court on January 28, 2020. Project Cheetah is one of the most ambitious of its kind in the world. Unlike cheetahs in South Africa and Namibia that live in fenced reserves, India lets them thrive in natural, unfenced, wild conditions. The project is implemented by the forestry department, South African organisations, National Biodiversity Institute, Endangered Wildlife Trust, etc.
The Indian Air Force flew the cheetahs from South Africa. Initially, India had planned to introduce African cheetahs rather than the present Asiatic cheetahs. However, this was against The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) rules. According to IUCN, introducing an exotic species will replace the native ones.
So India went for Asiatic cheetahs, which had existed in India and became extinct. Therefore, Asiatic cheetahs are not exotic species to the country.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has joined hands with NTCA in Project Cheetah. WII provides experienced advice for the proper implementation of the reintroduction programme.
The cheetahs are facing serious dislocation problems. The hot and humid climate of India has played havoc with them. Cheetahs brought from South Africa had developed a “winter cover”, or a thick coat of fur, in anticipation of the African winter, but when they faced the hot and sultry Indian summer, infections and their fur proved deadly.
A cheetah nicknamed Surya was found dead in KNP recently. There was a wound on its neck, infected with maggots. It was inferred that chafing from the collar in which a radio-frequency tracking chip was embedded had cut a wound in the skin and maggots had infected it. The same problem was encountered with other cats as well.
Collars, the wet and humid weather and flies killed two cheetahs. Others may become victims too if timely action is not taken. Now wildlife veterinarians have proposed an extensive health checkup of the cheetahs. However, the Environment Ministry in a note on July 16 dismissed these suggestions as “hearsay…in the absence of scientific evidence”.
All said, the fact is that the survival rate is worrisome. The NTCA in its affidavit in court said: “It is noteworthy to mention that the general scientific awareness is that being an integral part of the ecosystem, cheetahs in general have a very low survival rate, that is 50% in adults even in the non-introduced population. In the case of introduced population, the survival rates are much lower taking other variables into account which may lead to about 10% survival in cubs, and thus, mortalities, though troubling and in need of redressal and curtailment, are not unduly alarming.”
While KNP was selected as the sanctuary for the reintroduction of cheetahs due to it having the requisite conditions, the prey area is falling short. The Cheetah Action Plan envisages a prey base of 60 per square km. This is small and leads to cheetah conflicts as they move away from their base location in search of food Now the prey base is being revised to 17-20 per sq km.
KNP was even planned as a second habitat for India’s Asiatic lions. The project never took off. The Park has a large number of leopards, wolf and sloth bears. This has the potential for territorial fights between them and the cheetahs. This can only be avoided if sufficient prey base is made available.
Despite the spectre of death looming over the cheetahs, the government seems adamant not to opt for other sanctuaries. Union minister Bhupender Yadav has said there is no plan to relocate cheetahs from KNP.
Project Cheetah is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In September 2022, Modi himself released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia in KNP. Hence, it is incumbent that the government takes steps to protect and preserve the cheetahs.