Multiple cheetah deaths in Kuno raise questions about habitat limits, prey scarcity, and management. A data-driven look at the challenges facing India’s cheetah project T wo back-to-back cheetah deaths—one from a suspected collision inside the forest and another caused by a speeding vehicle—have once again pushed the spotlight onto the ambitious yet troubled cheetah introduction project in Kuno National Park . While officials have issued preliminary statements, the absence of publicly released post-mortem and investigation reports related to the past such cases has deepened concerns about transparency at a time when clarity is essential. The recent incidents highlight the ecological and management challenges that continue to shape the project’s uncertain trajectory. Each Loss Is Significant Setback On December 5, Friday, one of Veera’s cubs recently released into the open forest, died after reportedly separating from its mother. Just two days later, on December 7, another young cheetah...
India intends to bring 12 cheetahs annually for 8 to 10 years to continue its ambitious cheetah introduction project. But for the past 18 months, the country has not been able to procure cheetahs from any of the countries in Africa where cheetahs are found . Apparently they- the African countries are "quite worried over the fact that none of the surviving cheetahs in India are free ranging" - meaning they are still placed inside large enclosures or bomas in Kuno national park ”, confides a senior official in Delhi.Death of cheetah Pawan further worsens the situation. India’s much hyped and ambitious Cheetah reintrodution project seems to have hit a major roadblock. The first batch of 8 cheetahs reached India in September 2022 followed by 12 more spotted cats from South Africa in February 2023.
Why India Not Getting Cheetahs
Restoring cheetah populations is considered by India to have vital and far-reaching conservation consequences, which would aim to achieve a number of ecological objectives, including re-establishing the functional role of cheetah within their historical range in India and improving the enhancing the livelihood options and economies of the local communities, the Press Information Bureau in India informed after cheetahs from South Africa reached India. “Following the import of the 12 cheetahs in February, the plan is to translocate a further 12 annually for the next eight to 10 years”, it said. Earlier this year, the governments of South Africa and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation on the Reintroduction of Cheetah to India. The MoU facilitates cooperation between the two countries to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India; promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity built, to promote cheetah conservation. This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture and translocation of wildlife and community participation in conservation in the two countries. Highly placed sources in Delhi said that for the past two years or so, all the 24 surviving cheetahs – 12 adults and 12 cubs born in bomas-have been behind the enclosures.
Also read: Cheetah Cubs Born in Boma , Do They Have Conservation Value ?
“ It is a zoo like situation and would not achieve ecological objectives”, sources said.Even the other facilities- Gandhi Sagar Reserve in MP, Mukundura reserve in Rajasthan or Banni Grassland reserves in Kutch Gujarat-large enclosures are being prepared to keep the cheetahs in confinement. This has alerted the cheetah ranging countries, sources claimed. The MoU with South Africa, sources said, also talked about “ cooperation between the two countries to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India; promotes conservation and ensures that expertiseis shared and exchanged, and capacity built, to promote cheetah conservation”.But their experts were hardly consulted. Controversies started after some cheetah casualties in July 2023. “There is a lack of transparency and lack of accurate information and real-time data sharing by the officials from Kuno, " Adrian Tordiffe, a top South African expertand member of India’s Cheetah Project Steering Committee was quoted in Indian media. “For the past few months, it has been difficult to take stock of the situation as information could not be accessed,” he had said. In an article published in The Independent, a United Kingdom-based publication, Tordiffe expressed that radiographs of Agni (a male cheetah) shifting from a fracture and pictures ofcheetah injuries in the clash were still awaited. Tordiff repeatedly soughtinformation, but in vain, he alleged. Later the Africn experts were also asked not to talk to the press.
“Political and Bureaucratic Meddling”
Yadvendradev V. Jhala, former principal scientist on the Cheetah Project (2009–2023) who retired as Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India is very critical of the project especially the “political and bureaucratic meddling” in the project . Holding the officials responsible for cheetah deaths, Jhala in an article in Hornbill , a periodical brought out by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) , writes “ However, some cheetahs have died (7 adults and 3 cubs), with many of these deaths resulting from a lag in adapting their biorhythms to the shift from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere and failure by management to diagnose and treat resulting skin lesions in time.” He said further “high- profile conservation projects like Project Cheetah, while benefiting from resource allocations, unfortunately suffer from political and bureaucratic meddling where objectives other than those dictated by science and conservation take precedence. Under such circumstances, wildlife managers and scientists are averse to making decisions for fear of damaging their careers, but such decisions are required to achieve the project’s objectives.”
Also read: A Cheetah By The Tail
He also justified the decision of bringing cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa located in the Southern hemisphere. He said, the latest full genome sequence study of cheetahs across their historical range suggests that all cheetah subspecies are genetically equidistant from Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, the Asiatic cheetah subspecies ( only 12 such cheetahs are living in Iran) . Thus, criteria other than genetics take precedence in selecting the source population for Indian reintroduction. For the establishment of any new cheetah population, 30–40 genetically diverse,disease-free individuals capable of hunting and avoiding predators and humans are required. The only population meeting these criteria is from southern Africa,where Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana are home to about 4,000 cheetahs. This population can sustain an off take of 30–40 individuals without negatively impacting the source population.
Did Kenya Demand Tiger for Cheetah ?
There was some move for bringing cheetahs from Kenya, But the officials who visited India in may this year had also evinced interest in tigers in lieu of cheetah, sources in Delhi said. These officials had also visited Kuno national park and Gandhi Sagar reserve. India had shown interest in Kenya because both the countries are situated in the Northern hemisphere and cheetahs from Kenya,unlike those from South Africa and Namibia, would have more chances of survival in India. Referring to the deaths of cheetahs in hot and humid weather in July 2023 because of the growth of winter coat ( in cheetahs from Southern hemisphere countries like Namibia and South Africa), many wildlife experts believed that cheetahs from Kenya could have been a better option. Kenya is located in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres because it straddles the equator.There were some moves and a Kenyan publication reported the matter quoting an Indian official
Also read: Bringing African Cheetahs to India a Wrong Decision ?
The proposed transfer of cheetahs , initially thought to be close to finalisation, now faces significant hurdles as both nations work to establish a viable agreement. Kenyans.co.ke reported that “ Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj, ADGF (Project Tiger) and Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), reaffirmed that Kenya remains a key player in India's strategy to reintroduce cheetahs to its wildlife. India has identified the need to import 8- to 12 cheetahs annually to establish a sustainable population, a crucial step in its ongoing conservation project”. The same report also quoted the Union minister of state for forest and environment Kirti Vardhan Singh, who informed the Rajya Sabha that no formal deal had been finalised contrary to earlier reports suggesting that the agreement was imminent.’ The speculation around the deal gained momentum following a high-profile visit by a Kenyan delegation to India in early May, the Kenyan publication said. But what lies ahead in store for the cheetah introduction project is remained to be seen.
By: Deshdeep Saxena
All Images courtsey: MoEFCC
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