The cheetah, considered the fastest land animal in the world (up to 112 km/h running), disappeared in the early 1950s in India. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence, the Minister of the Environment announced its reintroduction, with animals from Namibia.
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The cheetah has disappeared for 70 years in India but it has not said its last word: India announced on Wednesday that it would reintroduce the felid on its territory, thanks to an agreement with Namibia. This African country will deliver a first group of eight of these animals with black speckled coats next month.
India has been working on this project since 2020, when the country’s Supreme Court authorized the introduction of African cheetahs on an experimental basis in a “carefully chosen location“. The Asiatic cheetah has been an officially declared extinct species in India since 1952.
The agreement signed Wednesday in New Delhi will bring African cheetahs to a national park in the state of Madhya Pradesh (center) as part of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence on August 15.
“Completing 75 glorious years of independence by restoring the world’s fastest land species, the cheetah, to India will rekindle the ecological dynamics of the landscape.“, India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav tweeted. “The reintroduction of the cheetah will also significantly improve the livelihoods of local communities through long-term ecotourism prospects.“, he still welcomed.
Completing 75 glorious years of Independence with restoring the fastest terrestrial flagship species, the cheetah, in India, will rekindle the ecological dynamics of the landscape.
— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) July 20, 2022
The cheetah is the only large carnivore to become extinct in India, mainly due to hunting and loss of its natural habitat. Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo is generally considered to have killed the last three cheetahs in the country in the late 1940s.
Kuno-Palpur National Park was chosen as a new home for cheetahs due to the abundance of prey and grassland. “The main objective of the reintroduction project is to establish a viable population of cheetahs in India, and enable it to play its functional role as a predator at the top of the food pyramid.“, explained the Ministry of the Environment in a press release.
India now hopes to strike a deal with South Africa to bring in more cheetahs from that country.