‘India’s Cheetah reintroduction programme on track’

NEW DELHI: India’s Cheetah reintroduction programme is on track, the animals have adapted to their new environment and currently there are no challenges facing the project, Cheetah Conservation Fund founder Laurie Marker said on Sunday.

She, however, cautioned that this does not mean there won’t be any losses of animals going forward.

Marker, who has been instrumental in drafting plans for the introduction, said: “We feel the project is on target. We have learned a lot. The animals have adapted, and they are doing well. But that does not mean there won’t be any more losses of the animals because reintroduction is a very big and hard job.”

In a letter addressed to the Indian Supreme Court in July, African experts, including Marker, had expressed grave concerns about Project Cheetah’s management. They had questioned the project’s communication gaps and sluggish response to critical issues.

They had also said some cheetah fatalities could have been prevented with improved monitoring and timely veterinary care.

Asked whether these issues have been resolved, Marker said: “The issues have definitely been discussed with the Indian officials, and the team working well together. The Indian authorities are consulting the African experts when required. There has been regular exchange of information between CCF experts and Indian officials associated with Project Cheetah.”

“At the moment, there are no challenges to the Cheetah Project. If there are any challenges in the future, these will be addressed as we go forward,” she added.

While some experts have questioned the scientific basis of the project, the American zoologist and researcher emphasised that extensive scientific data is being collected by the Wildlife Institute of India and their students on a daily basis.

“I do not agree that scientific data is not being collected,” said Marker, who has come to India several times in connection with the cheetah reintroduction programme since 2009.

Project Cheetah, India’s ambitious initiative to reintroduce cheetahs after their extinction in the country, marks its first anniversary on Sunday.

The initiative began on September 17 last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a group of cheetahs brought from Namibia into an enclosure at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.

Since then, the project has been closely watched by conservationists and experts worldwide.

Twenty cheetahs were imported from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno in two batches - one in September last year and the second in February.