What’s in Today’s Article?

• About Project Cheetah (Objective, Features, etc.)
• Status of Project Cheetah (Progress, Positives, Negatives, Challenges, Suggestions, etc.)

About Project Cheetah:

• Project Cheetah, launched to reintroduce the African sub-species of cheetahs in India, completed two years on September 17.
• The project has two primary objectives:
  • To establish a stable, breeding population of cheetahs in central India and
  • To use cheetahs as an umbrella species to restore open ecosystems such as scrubs, savannahs, grasslands, and degraded forests.
• This was the world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.
  • The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952, making it the only large wild mammalian species to go extinct since India’s independence.
• Funding: Funded by Project Tiger and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authority (CAMPA)
• While the project has seen marginal successes, significant challenges remain, raising questions about its long-term outlook.

Status of Cheetah Reintroduction:

• The project began with the translocation of African cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, in two batches of eight and twelve cheetahs.
• Initially, the cheetahs were kept in soft-release enclosures called bomas, where they adapted to the local environment and hunted live prey. Mating within this cohort led to the birth of 17 cubs.
• However, the survival rate has been a concern.
• Of the 20 translocated cheetahs, eight (40%) have died due to various reasons, including injuries during mating and infections caused by tick infestations under their radio collars.
• Of the 17 cubs born, five (29%) have also perished.
• Currently, 24 cheetahs (12 adults and 12 cubs) survive, with the next batch of 6-8 cheetahs expected to be translocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

Challenges in Releasing Cheetahs into the Wild:

• Despite initial successes in breeding and adapting to a new environment, the project faces significant hurdles in fully releasing the cheetahs into the wild.
• Although two cheetahs, Pawan and Veera, were released into the wild, Pawan’s recent death, ostensibly due to drowning, has raised concerns about their ability to establish habitats independently.
• Following Pawan’s death, all surviving cheetahs have been confined to enclosures, sparking criticism from conservation scientists about the delay in releasing them into the wild and a lack of transparency.
• Wildlife biologists have pointed out that Namibia’s policy advises against keeping large wild carnivores in captivity for more than three months.
• If not released within this timeframe, the animals should either be euthanized or held in permanent captivity.
• The prolonged enclosure of cheetahs, contrary to the Cheetah Action Plan, which stipulated a 4–5-week quarantine followed by a brief acclimatization period, has drawn scrutiny.

Prey Scarcity:

• One of the major challenges for Project Cheetah is the inadequate prey base.
• The latest report indicates that the density of chital, the primary prey for both cheetahs and leopards, has declined from 23.43 animals per square kilometer in 2021 to 17.5 in 2024, resulting in a significant prey deficit.
• The current population of approximately 6,700 chital is insufficient to sustain the 91 leopards and 12 adult cheetahs in Kuno National Park, which would require around 23,600 prey animals annually for leopards and 3,120 for cheetahs.
• This prey shortage necessitates immediate intervention, including prey augmentation at Kuno and Gandhi Sagar, the next intended site for cheetah translocation.
• Experts argue that the rapid decline in prey density reflects poor project management, especially given that Kuno was chosen specifically for its rich prey base.

Way Forward / Suggestions:

• Free-ranging cheetahs have often ventured far beyond the boundaries of Kuno, crossing state lines and even entering human habitats.
• Analysis of their movements using radio collars shows significant travel, with Veera moving an average of 5.82 km per day and often entering territorial forests outside the national park.
• These insights underscore the need for a comprehensive interstate landscape conservation plan.
• The future of Project Cheetah hinges on the conservation of the interstate Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape, which spans protected areas, territorial forests, and several districts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• Achieving a stable population of 60-70 cheetahs in this region will require significant efforts in prey management, establishing interstate coordination mechanisms, and ensuring the protection of open ecosystems.

Conclusion:

• Project Cheetah has made some progress in reintroducing cheetahs to India, but it faces numerous challenges, including prey scarcity, delayed releases, and the need for large-scale landscape conservation.
• Moving forward, effective management, transparency, and enhanced conservation efforts will be crucial in ensuring the long-term success of the project and the sustainable revival of cheetah populations in India.