The Cheetah Project has been applauded by many, but also criticised by some. Here’s why. The first year of India’s independence saw the extinction of the Asiatic Cheetah. Shot last in the princely state of Koriya, presently known as Chhattisgarh, the Asiatic Cheetah made its comeback almost 70 years after it was declared extinct in 1952. Eight cheetahs were released by PM Narendra Modi on 16 September, 2022 in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. This re-introduction plan materialised almost 12-13 years after it was first conceived by the UPA government in 2008-09. The ’Project Cheetah’ aims to re-introduce and develop a metapopulation in its historical range in India. It further aims to allow the cheetahs to perform their functional role as a top predator, contributing to expanding the cheetah population in its natural habitat. A Memorandum of Understanding in 2022 was signed between the Indian and Namibian governments, leading to the donation of eight felines by the latter. Although the move has been instituted in hopes of the restoration of the Kuno grassland ecosystem and the eventual increase of biodiversity, several conservationists have been skeptical about the Cheetah Project. So far, we have encountered the following shortcomings of The Cheetah Project. The New Habitat is Unsuitable for Cheetahs. The Cheetah is a wide-ranging species – travelling annually across areas up to 1,000 sq. km. With smaller parks, India offers less space than bigger areas in their home country, Africa. Apart from this, the movement of tigers across Kuno-Palpur to escape overcrowding also needs to be tracked. This brings up the complicated issue of an existing wildlife corridor between the two reserves. While the Kuno National Park currently suits the needs of the cheetahs, it may ultimately evolve into an area more suited to tigers - a dry, scrubby forest, experts have pointed. No Scientific Evidence to Draw Upon There has been no scientific evidence to prove that big cats like cheetahs, tigers, lions, and the like can co-exist comfortably. Such life in a shared habitat may have unexpected repercussions, but there is no real-life experience to draw upon to gauge the extension of its shortcomings. Where Do the Long-Displaced People of Kuno Go? To make space for cheetahs, almost 24 villages in the Kuno region were emptied - however, thousands of those displaced are yet to receive their land rights. About 1,500 families occupied these territories as directed by the 2011-version of the Cheetah Action Plan; a decade later, there has been no word on the relocation of the displaced people. Poorly planned and executed relocations have resulted in confusion and fear amongst the locals displaced; villages like Bagcha, Khalai, Nayagaon and others were forced to leave their homes, and give away the ploughs, grains and vegetables stored for future use as collateral damage. The Cheetah Project is on its way to becoming a boon for wildlife tourism; however, it may present the threats of intra-species and human-wildlife conflict. More than a conservation imperative, it may emerge more as a vanity project fulfilled despite environmental concerns regarding the ecosystem.
10 Oct 2022
Maansi Anand
