Cheetahs Make Their Comeback in India's National Parks After 70 Years

Decades after the cheetah population vanished in India, they are making a return.

On Saturday, eight cheetahs from Namibia arrived in the northern Indian city of Gwalior via a chartered cargo flight, marking a bold and contentious effort to reintroduce these big cats to South Asia.

They were then transported to a vast national park in central India, where scientists are optimistic that the world’s fastest land animal will once again roam freely.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the cheetahs into their enclosure on Saturday morning. The cats cautiously stepped out of their cage, carefully observing their new environment.

“When the cheetah runs once more, the grasslands will flourish, biodiversity will improve, and eco-tourism will receive a significant boost,” Modi stated.

Cheetahs were historically widespread across India but became extinct in 1952 due to hunting and habitat loss. They are the first and only predator to vanish since India gained independence in 1947. India hopes that bringing in African cheetahs will support efforts to protect its endangered and often overlooked grasslands.

Fewer than 7,000 adult cheetahs remain in the wild today, and they occupy less than 9 percent of their original territory. The shrinking habitat, driven by human population growth and climate change, poses a major threat, but India’s grasslands and forests may provide suitable habitats for the big cat, according to Laurie Marker from the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is assisting with their relocation to India.

“To prevent cheetahs from facing extinction, we must establish permanent habitats for them on Earth,” she emphasized.

Cheetah populations are declining in most regions, with South Africa being an exception where they face space constraints. Experts are optimistic that India’s forests could provide a viable environment for these cats. Currently, a dozen cheetahs are in quarantine in South Africa, expected to arrive at Kuno National Park soon. Earlier this month, four cheetahs captured in South African reserves were flown to Mozambique, where their numbers have sharply decreased.

Some experts express more caution.

Mayukh Chatterjee from the International Union for Conservation of Nature noted that introducing a new species can lead to “cascading and unintended consequences.”

For instance, the rapid increase in the tiger population in India has resulted in heightened conflicts with humans in shared habitats. Concerns have been raised about how the introduction of cheetahs might impact other carnivores, such as striped hyenas, or even prey species like birds.

“The key question is: How well will this be managed?” he remarked.

The initial group of eight cheetahs from Namibia will undergo a month-long quarantine at a facility within the national park to ensure they are free of pests. Following this, they will be moved to a larger enclosure within the park to acclimate to their new surroundings. These enclosures will include natural prey, such as spotted deer and antelope, which scientists hope the cheetahs will learn to hunt, while also being designed to keep out other predators like bears and leopards.

The cheetahs will be equipped with tracking collars and set free in the national park in approximately two months. Their movements will be monitored regularly, but they will primarily be independent.

The reserve is large enough to support 21 cheetahs, and if they successfully establish territories and breed, they could expand into other connected grasslands and forests that could accommodate an additional dozen cheetahs, according to scientists.

There is only one village with a few hundred families living on the outskirts of the park. Indian officials have stated that these residents will be relocated soon, and any livestock losses attributed to the cheetahs will be compensated. The overall project is projected to cost $11.5 million over five years, with $6.3 million funded by the state-owned Indian Oil.

This continent-to-continent relocation has been in the works for decades. The cheetahs that once inhabited India were Asiatic cheetahs, genetically unique relatives of those found in Africa, whose range extended to Saudi Arabia.

India aimed to introduce Asiatic cheetahs, but only a few dozen remain in Iran, and that population is too vulnerable for relocation.

Numerous challenges persist, including the presence of other predators in India, such as leopards, which may compete with the cheetahs, according to conservation geneticist Pamela Burger from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.

“It would be wiser to protect them in their current habitats than to invest efforts in establishing new areas where success is uncertain,” she remarked.

Dr. Adrian Tordiffe, a wildlife veterinary specialist from South Africa involved in the project, emphasized that these animals require assistance. He noted that conservation initiatives in many African nations have not been as effective, unlike in India, where robust conservation laws have safeguarded big cat populations.

“We cannot afford to be passive and expect that species like the cheetah will thrive without our intervention,” he stated.