CHEETAHS IN INDIA

CHEETAHS IN INDIA

CONTEXT:

• Recent dying of eight cheetahs in four months at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has created a serious cause of concern for authorities.

PROJECT CHEETAH: TRANSLOCATION

• Project Cheetah is India’s cheetah relocation programme and is perhaps among the most ambitious of its kind in the world.
• The attempt is to, over the next decade, bring in 5­10 animals every year until a self ­sustaining population of about 35 cheetahs is established.
• Unlike cheetahs in South Africa and Namibia that are living in fenced reserves, India’s plan is to have them grow in natural, unfenced, wild conditions.
• As of today, 11 of the translocated cheetahs are in the true wild.
• Four cheetahs are kept in specially designed one­ square ­kilometre enclosures called ‘bomas,’ to help the animals acclimatise to Indian conditions.
• Five of the translocated animals and three of four cubs born in India have died.

HOW THE GUEST CHEETAHS ARE FARING ?

• In September 2023, it will be one year since a batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia arrived in India.
• They were followed by 12 others from South Africa in February 2023.
• While conceived as an experiment that is susceptible to failure in the initial years, independent critics have argued that there are some basic flaws in the project.
• One of the cheetahs, nicknamed Surya, was found dead in KNP last week.

• Veterinarians examining the animal saw a wound on its neck, infected with maggots.
• Two days before Surya, another cheetah, Tejas, was reported dead after being attacked by a female cheetah. This happened within the enclosure.
• In May, three of four cubs ,the first litter born in India died from heat and malnourishment.
• Five of the translocated animals and three of four cubs born in India have died.
• An adult female, Daksha, died following injuries involving a skirmish among the animals that same month.
• Two other animals, Sasha and Uday died in February and April from a renal infection and cardiovascular problems, respectively.

REASON OF DEATHS:

• There was a chance that chafing from the collar might be indirectly sickening the cheetahs.
• Veterinary experts have said the deaths were in all probability due to septicaemia caused by maggot infestation in the animals’ necks likely caused by the radio collars they were fitted with.

• The collars that the cheetahs wear are made from polystyrene and equipped with a radio­frequency tracking chip that helps monitor the animals.
• There is also a hypothesis that via the wound the African animal may have been exposed to parasites that Indian big­ cats are usually resistant too.
• According to experts, the cheetah cubs, in the wild, have a very high mortality rate relative to tigers and lions.
• Cheetah cubs, in the wild, reportedly have a survival rate of only 10% and roughly the same fraction make it to adulthood.

Other reasons can include:

• Territorial fights also led to some of the deaths.
• Small habitable zone.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ?

• An expert committee charged with managing the Project Cheetah programme has recommended that all animals undergo a thorough medical review.
• Proper arrangement of nourishment and habitable climate for the litters.
• Transferring few cats to new homes as the animal is a courser and needs large distances to move freely.
• The expert committee has recommended that all surviving animals be subject to a thorough physical examination.
• This will involve removing their collars, taking tissue samples and checking for parasites.

DID PROJECT CHEETAH FAILED ?

• It is too early to rule on the success or failure of the project what is essential is that complete transparency be maintained over this ambitious relocation of the cheetah.
• Any attempt to whitewash the truth will be counterproductive.
• This is a project that has captured international attention.
• Therefore it is in the best interests of the authorities to be totally upfront about it so that conservationists can learn valuable lessons on relocation and the animals gradual reintroduction to the wild.
• Currently, Indian cheetahs face no competition from other comparable predators such as lions and leopards.
• So, it remains to be seen if the animals can successfully establish themselves in India, over time.

WAY FORWARD:

• Although officials say that there is enough space and prey in the Kuno reserve, government should look forward to develop a second reserve in Gandhisagar, Madhya Pradesh and also establish a cheetah rehabilitation centre.

SYLLABUS: MAINS, GS-3,ENVIRONMENT

SOURCE: THE HINDU