Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India

FOCUS

The Wildlife Institute of India published this report in December 2021. It presents the plan for the reintroductions (also called conservation translocations) of cheetahs in India, curated by the Wildlife Institute of India under instructions from the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India.

The report notes that Kuno Palpur National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh was rated high on the priority list amongst the ten surveyed sites for the introduction of cheetah “because of its suitable habitat and adequate prey base”. The primary reasons for decline in the number of cheetahs in India were large scale capture for bounty and sport hunting, decline in prey animals such as Chital deer and excessive conversion of habitat land. 

In 1948, the last cheetahs were recorded in the wild when the last three were shot in the Sal forests of Koriya district, Chhattisgarh. The Wildlife (Protection) Act was introduced in 1972 which prohibited animal hunting and was a crucial step towards wildlife conservation. Negotiations to bring back cheetahs started in the country in 2009 with an international workshop by the Wildlife Trust of India at Gajner, Rajasthan. 

The report is divided into 7 chapters: Executive Summary (Chapter 1); Introduction and Background (Chapter 2); Project Goal and Objectives (Chapter 3); Suitability of the Introduction Area (Chapter 4); Action Plan (Chapter 5); Conclusion (Chapter 6); References (Chapter 7). 

    FACTOIDS

  1. The report notes that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has been assigned to look after the management of cheetah introduction in India as per the mandate of the  Supreme Court of India in 2020. 

  2. The report states that Kuno National Park covers an area of 748 km², which has no human habitation “through incentivized voluntary relocation of forest settlements”. It has a cover of tropical dry deciduous forest, with the average rainfall is around 750 mm. Animals such as Chital, Sambar, blackbuck, porcupine, ratel, grey wolf, spotted cat, Asiatic wild cat, jungle cat, Indian civet and similar herbivorous animals are found in the area.

  3. As per the 2013 guidelines of the International Union for Conversation of Nature, social and biological aspects such as demography, genetics and socio-economics of conflict and livelihoods of the potential sites should be considered while reintroducing wild animals.

  4. The Action Plan proposes an initial import permit for minimum 20 cheetahs from Nambia and/or South Africa. The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Nambia and And Beyond (AB), a safari and wildlife management company in South Africa, have “indicated willingness” to donate this stock, the report states. It adds that behaviourally sound, young and genetically diverse group of male and female cheetahs could be taken in.

  5. The report states that the availability of prey base shall be assessed each year by the Wildlife Institute of India. 

  6. The project of reintroduction is proposed to be spread over five years with an estimated budget of Rs 91.65 crores. The responsibility to provide finances for this project is given to National Tiger Conservation Authority; Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger, Government of India; and State Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh.

  7. The project of reintroduction aims to provide a secure location of the cheetah population to grow while providing adequate security to local flora and fauna. It also aims to “develop the capacities of the local communities to co-exist with wild animals, particularly large carnivores”.


    Focus and Factoids by Ishita Banerjee.

AUTHOR

Wildlife Institute of India 

COPYRIGHT

Wildlife Institute of India 

PUBLICATION DATE

22 ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್, 2021

TAGS

#Project-Cheetah #Kuno-National-Park #wildlife-conservation #indigenous-people #human-wildlife-conflict

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