How Nelson Mandela made cheetah translocation possible to India? Read here
2 min read . Updated: 19 Feb 2023, 08:10 AM IST
PremiumAs many as 12 cheetahs from South Africa have been released into Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Saturday. With this, the total number of cheetahs at KNP has reached 20.
The translocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa to India could be made possible because of changed eco laws after Nelson Mandela was elected president following 27 years as a political prisoner of the white minority apartheid government, according to the news agency PTI.
Prior to this, India had ended all relations with South Africa for around four decades as it led the international fight against apartheid.
In an official statement, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) said that the transition to democracy had substantial implications for wild cheetah conservation in South Africa.
“The Game Theft Act (No. 105 of 1991) was responsible for a major change in land use from agriculture to ecotourism," the statement read.
It said that cheetahs have been reintroduced into 63 newly established game reserves since 1994 that currently support a combined metapopulation of 460 individuals. The department has also approved the export of up to 29 wild cheetahs per annum to support the conservation efforts for the species outside of the country, PTI reported.
Barbara Creecy, the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said this happened because of South Africa's successful conservation practices that the country can participate in a project such as ‘to restore a species in a former range state and thus contribute to the future survival of the species’.
As many as 12 cheetahs from South Africa have been released into Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Saturday. With this, the total number of cheetahs at KNP has reached 20.
The relocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa comes three years after the idea was mooted by the Indian government. Originally, India initiated plans to bring the cheetahs there by mid-2022, but a delay in finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries led to a postponement, with the animals continuing with their quarantine.
The African Cheetah Introduction Project in India' was conceived in 2009 but it failed to take off for over a decade. The plan to introduce the cheetah by November 2021 in Kuno suffered a setback due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The translocation was coordinated by seven South African government departments, universities, and eco organizations; as well as three in India - the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Wildlife Institute of India, and Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.
(With inputs from agencies)