Why in News?

• The Supreme Court has lifted its seven-year stay on a proposal to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an Experimental Basis.

About Cheetahs:

• Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are large cat of the subfamily Felinae and are considered as the fastest land animal.
• The 4 subspecies of cheetahs are Southeast African cheetah, Asiatic cheetah, Northeast African cheetah and Northwest African cheetah.
• They are found in North, Southern and East Africa, and a few localities in Iran.
• It inhabits a variety of mostly arid habitats like dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
• The cheetah has been classified as Vulnerableby the IUCN; and listed under Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Reasons behind Extinction of Cheetah:

• Loss of Grassland Habitat:Inability to breed while in captivity meant that wild cheetahs were only found in natural habitats. Thus loss of habitat meant detrimental to Cheetah population.
• Cheetahs were classified as vermin(harmful to crops and spreads diseases) during British period. This led to rewarding the act of killing of Cheetah.
• Problems like Human-Wildlife Conflict, loss of prey, and illegal trafficking, have also decimated their Numbers.

About Cheetah Reintroduction Programme:

• The last Cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947 after which it was declared extinct in India in 1952.
• Since 1970s India is trying to bring back the big cat from Iran. However due to lower number of cheetahs in Iran it was not considered being feasible.
• In 2009, the reintroduction project has got a fillip and India was exploring a plan of importing the South African cheetah from Namibia for reintroduction in India.
• 3 regions were shortlisted for reintroduction including:
• The Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary and Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and the Shahgarh bulge landscape in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

 

Why Reintroduction Programme Delayed?

• IUCN guidelines require a no-objection certificate for translocation of wildlife species. Besides the guidelines warn against the introduction of alien or exotic species. Finally in December 2018, IUCN gave no-objection certificate for translocation.
• The reintroduction plan to Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary hit a roadblock as it was also been shortlisted for introduction of Asiatic Lions from Gir forest in Gujarat. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court with respect to this and now it has lifted its stay order.
• Lack of funds hindered the reintroduction project in Nauradehi sanctuary in MP. Recently MP has shown interest in revival of the cheetah reintroduction project.

Implications of the Reintroduction:

• Reintroducing cheetahs in India will help relieve pressure on the species by creating additional habitat, which the cheetah desperately needs to survive.
• It will also help increase the species genetic diversity.
• Being one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
• With great speed and dexterity, the cheetah is known for being an excellent hunter, its kills feeding many other animals in its ecosystem—ensuring that Multiple Species Survive.