India has been approved to reintroduce cheetahs back into the country. According to BBC News, the Supreme Court has said that African cheetahs could be reintroduced in to a ‘carefully chosen location.’
Cheetahs have been absent from India for over 70 years after being driven to extinction. In the 1950s, lions were reintroduced in the Chandraprabha sanctuary in northern Uttar Pradesh. These big cats however, were poached to extinction. Similarly, tigers were reintroduced in Dungarpur, Rajasthan in the 1920s but were all killed by the 1950s.
Conservationists are worried that the cheetahs will be kept in semi-captive conditions, according to the BBC, rather than living freely. There are also concerns that without habitat restoration, a sustainable prey base and the high risk of human-wildlife conflict, the cheetahs will not survive.
The plan to reintroduce the cheetah has been in talks for over ten years. Wildlife officials, cheetah experts and conservationists from around the world have agreed that bringing these animals to India is a feasible idea. They believe that the fears of other groups are unsubstantiated.
Strict site inspections will be conducted, as well as evaluations regarding sustainable prey sources and the potential for human-wildlife conflict. Sites will have to undergo a rigorous process before any animal is moved to the area.
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