India Rejects Three Cheetahs From Namibia Because They Were Captive-Bred And Can't Hunt Prey

The efforts to reintroduce Cheetahs to India have hit another roadblock after some of them which were scheduled to be translocated to the country turned out to be captive-bred.

According to a report by The Times of India, three of the eight cheetahs which were to be brought to India were captive-bred and they were not able to hunt wild prey.

Twitter/ India in Namibia

They will be replaced with wild Cheetahs

The three captive-bred ones will be replaced by wild cheetahs, which will be quarantined for a month in Namibia before they can travel to India.

According to the report, introducing cheetahs who are unable to hunt on their own, to the forest which has a large leopard population is likely to make their survival in the wild difficult.

BCCL

Citing this, India has sought to replace them. But the quarantine and translocation clearance Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is likely to delay their reintroduction to India till November.

Indep Day exclusive: Cheetahs, potential candidates fr transfer to Kuno NP, MP in due course, undergo thorough 1st health exam by int'l team of experts @CCFCheetah led by renowned specialist Dr. Laurie Marker. High Commissioner Prashant Agrawal was present. We thank Namibia MEFT pic.twitter.com/C0A1nH2V5A

¡ª India In Namibia (@IndiainNamibia) August 15, 2022

No date set for reintroduction of Cheetahs

On Wednesday, the Union Environment Ministry said that reports about the big cats being stuck in transit are "completely unfounded" and the date for the re-introduction of Cheetahs in the "historical ranges" of the country has not been decided yet.

"Upon arrival, the Cheetahs will be kept under quarantine and observed before release. Reports in certain sections of the media that African Cheetahs are still stuck in transit are completely unfounded," the Ministry said.

BCCL

On July 20, India and Namibia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the reintroduction of cheetahs, declared extinct in the country in 1952.

Elephants clear leopards from Cheetah enclosure

Earlier this week, officials in Madhya Pradesh said that two elephants are being deployed to chase away four leopards from an enclosure in Kuno National Park meant to house cheetahs during an acclimatization phase after they arrive from Africa.

Six leopards had entered the enclosure, spread over 5 square kilometres, meant for the cheetahs, and while two had been chased away, efforts over several days to drive the remainder were in vain, following which trained elephants were deployed.

Reintroduction of Cheetahs to India

The cheetah is the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India, mainly due to overhunting and habitat loss. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district.

The re-introduction of wild species, particularly the Cheetah, is being undertaken as per the guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the processes like disease screening, quarantine of release candidates, as well as transportation of live wild animals across continents, require careful planning and execution.

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