Reintroduction of the Cheetah to India

DesertRhino150

DesertRhino150

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I have just seen this article, published on the 8th March 2019, which suggests that India will soon be receiving up to 30 wild cheetahs from South Africa and Namibia which will be released into a 500 square kilometre part of the Nairadehi Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

The transfer has been approved by the IUCN, the National Board of Wildlife and the Supreme Court. Surveys have suggested there is enough prey in the sanctuary to support cheetahs; water sources will be provided and drone cameras and camera traps will be used to monitor the cheetah post-release.

The article is included below; it should be translated:
Google Translate
 
I have also found another article regarding this project - recently between 500 and 600 chital deer have been transported to Nairadehi Sanctuary from Pench Tiger Reserve, with possibly more than 3,000 deer planned to be translocated. One of the main reasons given is that the chital will provide a prey base for the reintroduced cheetahs.

Again, the link below should hopefully be translated:
Google Translate
 
The first article translated really well. The second was about what I expected from Google Translate.
 
So it is finally happening? This is great - it has been rumored for a long time. India already has more cat species than any other country; the return of the cheetah will solidify their place as cat capitol of the world. And yes given the low number of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran and the near identical genetics of African cheetahs, this is the best solution. Long term I personally would be in favor of releasing (if available) a couple Iranian cheetahs into the population to produce a hybrid population with at least some Asiatic genes.
 
There have been talks about doing this for over a decade now, but the Indian government keeps going back and forth on whether to allow it. I'm not sure how I feel about it... it would be nice to see the species have a bigger range again, but it also feels like they're just being set up to die, given how finicky the species can be.

For those interested, here's the website of the Iranian Cheetah Society: Home - Iranian Cheetah Society
They are also a key species for the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation: Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation
 
As others have stated, the reintroduction of cheetah to India has been announced in one form or another so many times before I'll believe it when I see it, BUT suffice to say I'd much prefer to see restored ecosystems and a healthy cheetah population established outside Africa, than to hold off on the basis of purism.

With the remaining true Asiatic cheetahs, Its a shame once again its a case of governments failing to adequately protect the species in the wild whilst those few protections that are applied simultaneously block any practical attempts at saving them. Lets hope someone gets a reasonable genetic databank of wild individuals before they disappear entirely. If thats is the case I wouldn't rule out the possibility of exploring in the future how these genes could be somehow reintroduced into this Indian population.
 
Hopefully this works out well.
Do we know if this project or the sources for the cheetahs benefited from zoo donations at all?
 
Not to be a wet blanket but the first thing that MUST be said is that this is not the #1 priority cat project needed in India. Our existing and thriving population of lions in Gir has exceeded carrying capacity, and now faces issues of human-wildlife conflict and disease risk. Inter-state politics has blocked progress on that front; since the cheetahs are going to the same state (Madhya Pradesh) that would receive the relocated lions, I hope this doesn't further tank those prospects. Hopefully, this sets a precedent that aids the lion project.

Onto the good stuff: I think the African/purity question isn't an issue, as there were lots of African cheetahs being imported and released into Indian wilds in medieval and early modern times. This book Exotic Aliens by top conservationists and natural historians explores the idea that cheetahs were never even native to India; at the very least, large numbers were brought in from Africa both as hunting dogs and to stock hunting reserves. It's highly likely that African genes, at least, were widespread in the Indian population that went extinct in the 1950s. I'd rather an experimental and fragile project like this use cheetahs from secure populations in Africa than the few left in Iran.

For me, the bigger issue is what impact this has on Indian grasslands, like Nauradehi. In the global scheme of things, Africa's cheetah population might actually be more secure than India's grassland environments, which are highly threatened by fast-paced development and an absence of tigers under whose name to be protected given current priorities.

I hope the cheetah reintroduction serves to create a social and economic incentive to protect more grassland habitats, and the wolves, striped hyenas, great Indian bustard, blackbuck, star tortoise, and various vultures that could benefit. It's heartening that WII and IUCN have green-lighted this, and I hope the effect on these threatened and near threatened local species was taken as much into account as the health of those cheetahs. It's an almost 100% guarantee that cheetahs will be a generator of domestic tourism, and the location of Nauradehi is close enough to tiger reserves that the park could join the safari circuit for international travelers too. They'll just have to ensure that tourism benefits go to local communities and that the cheetahs become a positive rather than negative, livestock-lifting, ire-inducing species like the gray wolf has been in parts of the US.

Last thing: the chital relocation strikes me as very, very strange. Historically, blackbuck and chinkara are the prey species associated with cheetahs in India. Those are the hoofstock that you find (along with the maybe-too-large-for-cheetah nilgai) across India's dry grasslands, more so than chital who are also of lesser conservation value. I guess chital becomes a lower-risk move, but with all the success both India and the US have had breeding and introducing blackbuck, why was that not the selected species? Even stranger is the fact that the second article mentions blackbuck as the preferred prey species of cheetahs in Africa... um... who wants to tell the editor?
 
Arizona Docent said:
So it is finally happening? This is great - it has been rumored for a long time. India already has more cat species than any other country; the return of the cheetah will solidify their place as cat capitol of the world.
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This part tickled the unscientific, zoo-nationalist John Hammond side of me a bit too much :P Let's hope the same effect didn't cloud the judgment of WII and others involved in the project.

But also I think we're quite solidly the cat capitol already... once your friend secures those fishing cats, and we disperse our lions, and the cheetah project serves as a nice casual-appeal cover for our real secret plan to save acres and acres for rusty spotted cats :P
 
It's very unlikely that the Asiatic cheetah subspecies will survive into the coming decades. It will very likely go extinct in the wild with no viable breeding population in captivity.

It also my belief that whist genetic differences should be preserved if possible its ALWAYS better to repopulate with the wrong subspecies than not repopulate at all. The cheetah as a species would benefit from a population outside of Africa. AND should by some miracle the asiatic subpecies survives and in decades to come there is some revolution in Iran and they regime changes to one more cooperative with India ,there is no reason why a program cannot be developed to phase in the Asiatic bloodline. Because lets face it, even if reintroduction is successful, there will be tens, not hundreds, of cheetah in India for decades to come.
 
This has been a long time coming and the argument against it (that took it to court) was absurd (I know this from an inside source). Cheetahs are all so closely related that I personally question if any subspecies distinctions are valid. Based on appearance at least I cannot tell the difference between a southern Africa cheetah and an Asiatic cheetah. In any case there is zero chance the introduced Indian population would mingle with the Iranian population so from a hybridization viewpoint its a non-issue (though honestly that might be the only thing that could save the small Iranian population, just as introducing Texas pumas saved the small inbred population of Florida pumas/panthers).
 
It should also be noted that India has more species of wild cats than any other nation. Once this reintroduction goes through that position will be further solidified. After reintroduction goes through, in addition to numerous small cats, you could potentially see five of the seven species of big cat (or six of the eight if you count clouded leopards as big cats).
 
Unpopular opinion maybe but I've got mixed feelings about this. I've talked about it on other parts of this site, and I want to consult with folks I know that have a better sense of Indian conservation before I take a strong stance but here's my brief concern:

There isn't a lot of strong science on the history of cheetahs in India. Between the constant British colonial confusion between leopard and cheetah (compounded by the native confusion due to our lack of well-defined species terms in Indian languages) and the mass import and use by royals of semi-domesticated cheetahs for hunting... we aren't sure of the cheetah's exact historic range, habitat, density or interaction with other local species.

I'm not concerned about the subspecies choice but I am concerned that this is largely a passion project for certain conservation elites especially those with royal ties. A quick look through some of its biggest advocates features a lot of royal descendants.

This could go EXTREMELY well if the presence of cheetahs leads to greater conservation of our besieged grassland ecosystems for existing species like great Indian and MacQueen's bustards, Jerdon's courser, all our critically endangered Old World vultures, Indian wolves, striped hyenas, etc. Tiger, lion and rhino conservation with a strong tourism component has saved tons of Indian ecosystems, so the cheetah would be really awesome in the same role.

But I hope our authorities are taking into consideration the possible effects of introducing cheetah on these species too. I've got faith that our scientific and non-profit organizations are, but our state agencies can be pretty unscientific in their priorities.

Also, cheetahs require a lot of undisturbed space, right? Tough to come by in India. Leopards do well because of how resilient they are in human-impacted landscapes. Tigers are doing better as we've invested in low-impact corridors connecting small undisturbed parks where the tigers can be dominant. Dholes have not fared as well because they're one of those species that requires a lot larger range and corridors... and because our unscientific priorities as a nation lead to the canids often getting the short end of the policy and funding stick. I would hate for the cheetah project to result in a high level of human-wildlife conflict whose retaliatory burden falls on native wolves or hyenas. And, of course, I feel for the cheetahs and communities who could suffer as well.

Finally, I hope that the cheetah project in Kuno does not give the Gujarat government one more excuse to delay the much more necessary and critical translocation of Asiatic lions from the single and vulnerable population in Gir. In particular, if the cheetah project fails, I fear Gujarat will use that as a precedent.

Arizona Docent said:
This has been a long time coming and the argument against it (that took it to court) was absurd (I know this from an inside source).
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Super interested in your source's views on these issues that go beyond the subspecies question, especially since I think your source is a Felinae specialist on the ground in India? I remember you mentioning their work on fishing cats.

Also, on a very personal note, I'm a little worried about the effect of cheetahs on Velavadar, a park that I hope to get to in order to see its famous diurnal striped hyenas. The only other reliable spot in India to see hyenas in the day - Jhalana - has become less so due to the increase in leopard population (which I accept is a good thing!). I know brown hyenas are behaviorally dominant over cheetahs in Southern Africa, so maybe my striped guys will fare just fine. Anyways, I know this is not too big of a concern for others... maybe this is biasing my overall opinion :p
 
Arizona Docent said:
Based on appearance at least I cannot tell the difference between a southern Africa cheetah and an Asiatic cheetah. In any case there is zero chance the introduced Indian population would mingle with the Iranian population so from a hybridization viewpoint its a non-issue (though honestly that might be the only thing that could save the small Iranian population, just as introducing Texas pumas saved the small inbred population of Florida pumas/panthers).
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I agree with you in all but the appearance point. They are quite morphologically different. The Asiatic cheetah has a significantly larger mane and overall longer fur. :)
 
@Mbwamwitu My source for the cheetah info is NOT my friend who founded Fishing Cat Conservancy (though he is from India). It is actually someone much higher up in Indian conservation circles. I did not speak to him directly, but a close relative took him on a mammal watching tour in parts of the USA and relayed the conversation to me.

I find it surprising you question the historic range of Asiatic cheetahs in India. The importation of African cheetahs for coursing was only in the latter years of the sport because the native Indian (Asiatic) cheetahs were no longer available. The story is well documented in the excellent book The End of a Trail: The Cheetah in India.
 
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