New Delhi, Sep 09: September 17 will be a momentous occasion for India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will re-introduce Cheetahs, the world's fastest animal in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park. This will be the first trans-continental shifting of a large carnivore to have ever taken place.
While preparations are underway to welcome the first five Cheetahs from Namibia, three earmarked Cheetahs have been rejected by India as they were found to be captive-bred and cannot hunt.
What is Cheetah reintroduction plan?
Narendra Modi government has decided to reintroduce cheetahs, under the 'Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India'. Project Cheetah aims to bring back independent India's only extinct large mammal - the cheetah. As part of the project, 50 cheetahs will be introduced in various National Parks over five years.
A 'reintroduction' is an attempt to establish a species (or subspecies) in an area that was once part of its historical range, but from which it has disappeared; a 'translocation' involves the movement of wild-born individuals from one part of their range to another.
Why India rejected three Cheetahs?
Leopard vs Cheetah
Last month, there were reports of 'stressed leopards' entering the Cheetah enclosure. It has now become a big worry for the Kuno Palpur National Park authorities to remove leopards from the special enclosure area.
The Kuno authorities are planning to electrify fence surrounding the special enclosure meant for the arrival of cheetahs, in order to keep the leopards at bay.
The electric shock will be of mild intensity and will cause no harm to the animals.
How Cheetahs will be relocated to the wild
While India eagerly awaits the arrival of Cheetahs, the relocations are tough for the animals.
"It's a very stressful process for the cats to be in a livestock enclosure because they have nowhere to go whilst we are darting them," said wildlife veterinarian Andy Frasier told AFP.
"We need to use our drug doses very carefully and make sure that we give them enough drugs to anesthetize them safely," he said.
"They have woken up nicely in their crates and they are all relaxed enough that we are happy for them to leave in their transport," he said.
The team is preparing for the larger and more challenging relocation of cheetahs to India which will require the cats to travel a much longer distance with stops in commercial airports.
Those cheetahs would be treated with a tranquilizer that lasts for three to five days during their travel, he said.
Indian officials say the move will aid global cheetah conservation efforts since their range in Africa is limited. The plan is for the cats to be kept in large enclosures in central Indian forests, protected from other predators like leopards or bears, to give them time to get used to their new home.
The enclosures have prey - like deer and antelope - which scientists hope the cheetahs will hunt. After a few months of close monitoring, the cheetahs will be radio-collared and released.
There are two subspecies of cheetahs. Those that once roamed in Asia were declared extinct in India in 1952 and are now found only in Iran. Since then there have been efforts to reintroduce these cats to India's savannahs. Initially the plan was to bring in cheetahs from Iran but now they are being moved from southern African countries.