African states send Cheetahs to India
South Africa is flying cheetahs to India – where they were declared extinct in 1952 – as part of efforts to reintroduce the big cats in regions where their population has dwindled.
Four cheetahs captured at reserves in South Africa were flown to Mozambique – also part of the project – last week after being held in quarantine for about a month and cleared for travel.
Eight cats from Namibia will also be flown to India later this month, and 12 more from South Africa next month.
Vincent van der Merwe, manager of the Cheetah Metapopulation Initiative, said: “For a genetically viable population in India in the long term you need at least 500 individuals, so every year we will send eight to 12 animals, to top them up, to increase numbers, to bring in new genetics until they have a viable population.”
They will be kept in large enclosures in central Indian forests, protected from other predators such as leopards, to give them time to adjust.
The enclosures have prey, including deer and antelope, which scientists hope the cheetahs will hunt. After months of monitoring, they will be radio-collared and released.
There are two subspecies of cheetahs. Those that once roamed in Asia were declared extinct in India in 1952 and are now found only in Iran.
South Africa, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe still have significant populations.