PremiumApart from how we care for these cats, initial project success will depend on how well they adapt to a new habitat. Across generations, their survival will be about their ability to fend off the genetic infirmities of being too inbred
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Indian biodiversity marked a historic moment on Saturday, with cheetahs again making pugmarks on the country’s soil seven decades after they were declared extinct here. Eight of these, three males and five females imported from Namibia, were released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. A few dozen more are expected to be flown in from Africa, as the grand aim is to repopulate India’s wild with these speedy grassland hunters.Apart from how we care for these cats, initial project success will depend on how well they adapt to a new habitat. Across generations, their survival will be about their ability to fend off the genetic infirmities of being too inbred. Within a species, the diversity of genes plays a major role in patching up passed-along weaknesses that can slip below critical levels if an isolated gene pool is too small to allow variation. For all the fanfare around our new cheetahs, we have a big challenge on our hands. Under the British Raj pre-1947, we clearly failed our wildlife. Cheetah revival may have daunting odds today, but now that we have begun, we surely owe the world our best efforts at making a go of it.