Experts divided over lion, cheetah relocation

Cyclone Tauktae’s impact on Gujarat’s Gir national park, the country’s only home for lions in the wild, triggered a debate whether Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno Palpur wildlife reserve should take in some of the affected animals or go ahead with the planned relocation of cheetahs from Africa, conservation experts said on Monday.

Most wildlife experts say Kuno should get lions from Gir as the habitat was originally developed for relocation of the big cats so that they could get a second home outside Gujarat, more so after the devastating

Tauktae felled about 2.5 million trees in Gir. Though the Gujarat forest department said no lion died because of the cyclone, wildlife experts said Tauktae was a warning to governments that India needs a second home for the big cats.

“You can relocate people to safer places before a cyclone comes. Not wildlife. You need a second home for them to ensure that the Asiatic lion species is not wiped out from the wild,” said a scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India, wishing not to be identified.lions in a Hyderabad zoo contracting Covid-19 and Cyclone Tauktae revived the debate whether the animals need a new home.