Delhi: In a significant move, the Government has in principle approved a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) proposal to explore the possibility of returning the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) to the wild in India.

Announcing this in the Parliament last week, the union minister of state for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh said: “The cheetah is the only animal to have been declared extinct in India in the last 1000 years. We have to get them from abroad to repopulate the species here.”

The statement has created excitement among wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists, as well as anxiety among those who feared that this could impact the conservation of other species, especially the tiger.

Putting these fears to rest, Dr MK Ranjitsinh, Chairman WTI, who leads the Cheetah Reintroduction Project, said, “This project would in no way affect the efforts to conserve the tiger, nor for that matter any other species or protected areas. It does not entail diverting any funds allocated by the Government for conservation of existing endangered species and habitats. No fund support is sought from the Government. Moreover, cheetah reintroduction would be attempted in a totally different habitat and milieu. This would help save the grasslands and dry forests and the flora and fauna within, in the same manner that the tiger helped save its forest and high grassland habitats and the snow leopard is to be the vanguard of the attempt to save the mountain habitats and its fauna. Indian conservation cannot be confined to just the tiger.”

The project, which is being planned at the moment, will work out its scientific road map after a meeting of national and international cheetah and re-introduction experts later this year.

According to the plan, the animals will be brought from Africa and a breeding population will be acclimatised to Indian conditions in a spacious rehabilitation centre, to be set up in Rajasthan – once in the distribution range of the cheetah. Before the establishment of the proposed breeding and rehabilitation facility, the feasibility of the release of the animal into the wild in selected sites will also be ascertained. Moreover, the prey base would need to be conserved and the habitat upgraded to be made suitable for cheetah rehabilitation. With the feasibility of their survival established, the progeny of these cheetahs would be released in such selected protected areas.

The Asiatic cheetah was driven to extinction in India about 60 years ago. Hence, the genetically very similar African cheetah which numbers about 12000 wild individuals, was favoured as seed stock for reintroduction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) whose opinion was sought by the Government in this regard, approved this proposal.

The reintroduction if realised, would serve a wider agenda of conserving endangered grassland and scrub forest habitat in parts of India, which constitutes cheetah habitat. This would also help in the conservation of endangered grassland fauna including the imperiled great Indian bustard and caracal, among others.

“Grasslands- the most productive terrestrial ecosystems have been over-exploited in India, either for agriculture or as grazing pastures, resulting in severe degradation. The aura of the cheetah would focus attention on these biomes and lead to their better management, which would ultimately also have a positive impact on human welfare and livelihood.” Dr Ranjitsinh said.