African Cheetahs Could Return to India as SC Clears Project; Rajasthan, MP Selected as Their 1st Home

Dehradun: The African cheetah, the fastest big cat on the planet, could soon be seen in India. The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the government to introduce the animal to a suitable habitat in the country on an experimental basis to see whether it can adapt to Indian conditions.

The apex court had shelved the project in 2013, three years after the then Union Forest and Environment Ministry gave the go-ahead.

Stating that the rare Indian cheetah is almost extinct in the country, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had sought the court’s permission to relocate the African cheetah from Namibia.

The court set up a three-member committee, comprising former director of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Ranjit Singh, WII DG Dhananjay Mohan, and DIG, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, to guide the NTCA in taking a decision on the matter.

A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant said the court will monitor the project and the committee will submit its report before it every four months. The court also said the decision to relocate the African cheetah will be taken after a proper survey and the action of introduction of the animal will be left to the NTCA's discretion.

It said the NCTA will be guided by the committee of experts who will carry out a survey for the “carefully chosen location on viability of doing it on a larger scale”. “In case of any difficulty, location would be changed to more habitable one,” the bench said.

WII Dean YB Jhala expressed happiness with the court’s order.

“In its decision in 2013, the apex court had termed the cheetah’s relocation illegal. WII and the ministry then submitted an affidavit explaining why cheetahs were necessary for the ecosystem,” he said. “We are happy that the Supreme Court has given us permission to reintroduce the cheetah with some conditions.”

According to plans, 20-40 cheetahs will be bought from African nations and reintroduced at three sites – two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Rajasthan.

“Cheetahs were visible in the country till the 1950s. Records suggest the last cheetah was killed in 1952 in central India (now Chhattisgarh). If everything goes as per plan, the big cats will be reintroduced in three sites, including Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh,” said Jhala.

India's top court has said cheetahs can be reintroduced in the country, 70 years after they were wiped out.

Responding to a plea by the government, the Supreme Court said African cheetahs could be introduced to the wild in a "carefully chosen location".

Cheetahs are an endangered species, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

Only 7,100 cheetahs are left in the wild, almost all of them in Africa.

The Asiatic cheetah, which once roamed parts of India, is now only found in Iran, where there are thought to be about 50 left.

India's Supreme Court said the animal would have to be introduced on an experimental basis to find out if it could adapt to Indian conditions.

Studies show that at least 200 cheetahs were killed in India, largely by sheep and goat herders, during the colonial period. It is the only large mammal to become extinct after the country gained independence in 1947.

India's former environment minister Jairam Ramesh welcomed the decision to reintroduce the animal.