Login With Google
African cheetahs to prowl Indian forests
Why in news?
- SC recently lifted its 7-year stay on a proposal to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an experimental basis.
More in news
- Plan to revive the Indian cheetah population was stalled in 2012:
(1) Fear of Conflict: In May 2012, the top court had stalled the plan to initiate the foreign cheetahs into the Palpur Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh fearing they may come into conflict with a parallel and a much-delayed project to reintroduce lions into the same sanctuary.
(2) Favourable Clime: The court was also worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favourable clime as far as abundance of prey is concerned.
- Bench Lifted the Stay in 2020
(1) Bench allowed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to go ahead with its plans to bring the African cat to India.
(2) Committee Formed: It set up a three-member committee, comprising former Director of Wildlife of India Ranjit Singh, DG of Wildlife of India Dhananjay Mohan, and DIG, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, to ‘guide’ the NTCA and make sure that the right precautions are taken.
(3) Progress report: Bench, directed the committee to file a progress report every four months.
- Survey Needed:
(1) The Supreme Court made it clear that a proper survey should be done to identify the best possible habitat for the cheetahs.
(2) Every effort should be taken to ensure that they adapt to the Indian conditions.
(3) The committee would help, advise and monitor the NTCA on these issues.
(4) The action of the introduction of the animal would be left to the NTCA’s discretion.
- NTCA Statement:
(1) Cheetah does not breed well in captivity and requires vast stretches of grassland, and access to adequate prey to thrive.
(2) There are eight to nine identified sites in India but the best one is in the Kuno Palpur sanctuary.
(3) The purported gains from introducing the cheetah would include tourism, improvement of grasslands and global recognition for successfully reviving the animal in India.
Sources
The Hindu