India’s cheetah population reaches 53 after the tenth litter in Kuno, but experts question whether births inside bomas signal real conservation success. The announcement of the tenth cheetah litter in Kuno National Park on March 9 has pushed India’s cheetah population to 53 individuals. The numbers appear impressive. Of these, 44 cheetahs are currently alive, including nine recently brought from Botswana, while 45 cubs have been born in India since the project began. Out of these births, 33 cubs are surviving and 12 have died.For a species declared extinct in India in 1952, the return of cheetah cubs is emotionally powerful. Government officials and conservation managers have understandably celebrated the milestone as proof that Project Cheetah is moving in the right direction. But is this a right perception? Also read: 3 Years In: Unveiling the Truth About India's Cheetah Project Perhaps, No. When viewed through the lens of ecology and long-term conservation, the numbe...
Female cheetah and cubs.Even this picture released by India's Press Information Bureaue says something. Eversince cheetah introduction in Kuno national park , officials are dreaming for this day. But a section of these officials also believe that these cats continue to live under stress and there is an uncertainty over breeding. They need to meet and mate. But how ? Will they be able to do so as they are going to follow many more months of stress when they are released in open. Now that the Namibian cheetahs are ready for release in the open forest from the closed confines of the present 5 square km fenced housing, many in the cheetah monitoring team are concerned over the future of their reproduction- an important land mark in cheetah conservation and the ultimate aim of the introduction of the foreign species of the cat in India. From Namibia to India , to small enclosure in Kuno to the five sq km boma, they will ...