Why in News?
Nine cheetahs translocated from Botswana were released into Kuno National Park, increasing India’s total cheetah population to 48.
Description:
About Project Cheetah:
- Nature: World’s first intercontinental large wild carnivore translocation project.
- Objective: Reintroduction of cheetahs into India after they were declared extinct in the country in 1952.
- African Cheetah – Vulnerable
- The Asiatic cheetah, Critically Endangered, is now found only in Iran, with estimates of the wild population ranging between 30 and 50 individuals.
Institutional Framework:
- Nodal Agency: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
- International Regulation: Governed by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Indian Sites:
- Kuno National Park (MP), Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (MP)
Significance:
- Ecological: Restoring the grassland-savanna biome in India.
- Diplomatic: Strengthens South-South cooperation through conservation.
Limitations / Issues:
- Adaptation: Challenges regarding “winter coat” synchronization (growing a winter coat in the wrong season) and acclimatization to the Northern Hemisphere.
- Mortality: Managing survival rates after previous batches from Namibia and South Africa.
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