CHEETAHS IN INDIA

THE STORY OF  EXTINCTION AND REVIVAL

SARASIJ MAJUMDER

INDIAN SCENERION-PAST.

The story of the Indian cheetah is a tale of ancient glory, royal hunts, colonial exploitation, and the consequences of human interference on delicate ecosystems. What was once a symbol of grace and speed in India’s rich wildlife heritage, met a tragic fate, leading to its eventual extinction in the country.

Cheetah's roots in India can be traced back to ancient times. Cave paintings dating back to the Neolithic age in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh make it evident that cheetahs were once found across the country, particularly in central India, where they roamed in semi-desert areas, scrub jungles, and grasslands. Throughout history, cheetahs had a special place in the hearts of  INDIAN Kings and nobles. They were admired for their speed and elegance, making them ideal companions for the nobles during hunts and pastimes.

As time marched on, however, the bond between cheetahs and nobility began to fade. The fortunes of cheetahs took a dark turn during British colonial rule. The colonisers viewed cheetahs as a threat to their livestock and game species and placed bounties on their heads. During colonial times, the administration actively hunted cheetahs and gave rewards to people who captured or killed them. This hunting, along with the loss of their homes due to human settlements and cutting down forests, caused their numbers to decrease rapidly. In this species—survival rate of LITTERS is also not good, as explained in later part.

I BLAME BRITISHERS OF INDIA PRIMERILY RESPONSIBLE FOR  EXTINCT OF THIS GREAT AND BEATUFUL PREDATORS.

The cheetah is believed to have disappeared from the Indian landscape in 1947 when Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya princely state hunted down and shot the last three recorded Asiatic cheetahs in India. Mughal emperor Akbar, who reigned from 1556 to 1605, had 1,000 cheetahs. The animals were used for hunting blackbucks and gazelles. – Ref. AKBAR NAMA

The cheetah was officially declared extinct by the Indian government in 1952.

ORDER OF POWER : LARGE PREDATORS:
1. TIGER/LION
2. HYENA
3. LEOPARD
4. WILD DOG
5. CHEETAH

Though weaker in strength, Cheetahs are best athlete amongst the Big Cats, and mostly they hunt  their prey,  more by virtue of their agility, but also coupled with speed. Their FAR is 20, compared to 12 of LION, and 14 of Tiger. (DATA—Ref 1)

We still have all the first  4 in the above list, in our forests  and expecting to re-introduce the 5^th one.

PROJECT CHEETAH

As part of the Centre's ambitious 'Project Cheetah', a total of 20 cheetahs were relocated to India from Africa. The first batch, comprising eight Namibian cheetahs, were introduced in September 2022. The second batch of 12 cheetahs was brought from South Africa in February 2023.

All of them are located in KUNO NATIONAL PARK.

Shaurya, a male from Namibia, died inside its enclosure in Kuno on January 16 despite being treated for “weakness”, as per a report by The Indian Express. It is the tenth cheetah to die in Kuno. So far, seven adults and three cubs have died due to several causes in the Park.

In August last year, the Indian government said in a  joint affidavit to the Supreme Court that the deaths (eight cheetahs including the three cubs had died by then) were “troubling” but “not unduly alarming”, after the apex court had asked that a detailed affidavit explaining the reasons for the cheetah deaths and the remedial measures being taken be submitted. 

AWARENESS

We lack awareness, Love, and respect for our neighbours in the WILD. I spent many nights in forests of India, and felt it, saw it, and got hurt seeing the attitude of the visitors. In their world, there is no RAPE, no Cruelty unless required for food, and no Greed. A tiger, or a snake doesn’t hunt, if it’s stomach is full. And, by nature, they co-exist.

Chandrababu Naidu, a forest guard working in Bannerghatta National Park, expresses, "We haven't learned anything from the loss of cheetahs. Nowadays, in the name of protection and conservation, we keep animals in enclosed places like zoos, parks, and sanctuaries. However, they truly need their natural homes. We must stop destroying forests and set them all free. Only then can every animal have a chance to survive."

I agree with him. We must have not ZOOS, but SANATORIUM for Wild animals who are not otherwise suitable to live freely, and need protection. People can visit them, paying appropriately.

Despite trying to reintroduce Cheetahs to INDIA, the initiative appears to have been not very successful so far.

A problem with survival of Cheetah’s CUB:

This, however, is not the cause of Rehabilitation problem—but we must know this.

For cheetahs cubs, they are really not  dying early, but survival rate of Cheetah cubs, unfortunately is poor for various reasons. That's part of why number of  litters are so large, up to 8. Compare that to a leopard who rarely has a litter of 3. (Most are 2).

Cheetahs that I've personally followed the history,  lost cubs and litters due to:

•  Due to Wilde beast herds (trampled)
• Mothers inexperience. A Tigress is best Mother.
• Poor den site. Cheetahs are not very skilled in selecting their DEN. If rained, it becomes extremely swampy and some drowned or died from exposure/hypothermia. And rainy season is when they BREED, conceiving in spring, early summer.
• Predators which attack young cubs: honey badgers, birds of prey, leopards, lions, servals, caracals, hyena, wild dog, jackals….
• Starvation and disease.
• Poisoning/snares
• Becoming separated—mother out for Hunting, and lost way, & never finding each other.
• Tourist vehicles interference. Not a problem yet, for Cheetah in India. But for others. I prefer Forests to be closed for longer period.

The vast majority of cheetah cub mortality is predation from lions, leopard and hyena. Cubs are quick when they're a few months old, but don't develop speed to outpace the aggressors until 8 month  to-1year old.   Once cubs reach a year, they are almost in the clear. By then they're very quick, very good climbers, and have gained significant life experience

WHAT EMERGE:-

Instead of importing too many grown up  CHEETAHS, who will have rehabilitation problems, we should breed locally, in protected environment from already imported lot and, rehabilitate the CUBS, once they are mature i.e. 1+ years old,  in groups of 4, Male + Female.

FURTHER READ:

1.0 The End of a Trail - The Cheetah in India, a book written by Divya Bhanu  Singh, the former vice-president of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)-(BLOGGER IS A MEMBER OF BNHS)

2.0 BNHS periodicals I receive as Member.

3.0 Image— Published in a Journal .  Logo unknown and acknowledged.