Project Cheetah is the Indian government’s plan to bring back cheetahs. India declared cheetahs extinct in the country back in 1952. In this program, cheetahs are imported from Africa and released in specific habitats inside the country, mostly in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. It focuses on the restoration of ecological balance, support to biodiversity, and tourism and conservation of wildlife in India.
• This translocation of cheetahs to India was actually a plan initiated in 2009, and it received its final nod from the Supreme Court of India in 2020.
• This is a collaboration with the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is an international organisation started in Namibia in the year 1990.
• The government has also been training about 400 mitras from 51 villages who will help the locals to understand the cheetah and its characteristics.
• Of the eight Cheetahs, five are female, and three are male. Under the project, India will receive 20 cheetahs, 12 from South Africa and 8 from Namibia.
• The project is part of India’s endeavors in regards to the relocation of the cheetahs, in which negotiations have been carried out with Iran in early 1970s.
Reintroduction of cheetahs has been identified as an efficient approach to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem function.
• The impacts of the project on wildlife conservation are quite many, including species restoration, ecological balance, habitat preservation, increased awareness, mitigation of human-wildlife conflict, and scientific research.
