Reintroduction of Cheetahs

Why is in news? PM Modi to release Cheetahs in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh 17^th September, 2022

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in 17^th Sep, 2022.
• This is the world's first transcontinental project to restore large wild animals.
• The area spread over 750 square kilometers of Kuno National Park is suitable for the habitat of about two dozen cheetahs. Apart from this, about 3 thousand square kilometer forest area is available for free movement of cheetahs in two districts Sheopur and Shivpuri.
• Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India was launched at the 19th meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• The cheetah is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
• The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal that lives in Africa and Asia.
• IUCN status: African Cheetah – Vulnerable, Asian Cheetah - Critically Endangered.
• CITES status: Both are in the Appendix-I of the List.
• The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been eliminated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
• The conservation of the cheetah will revive grasslands and their biomes and habitat, much like Project Tiger has done for forests and all the species that have seen their numbers go up.
• Reasons for the Extinction: Hunting, diminishing habitat and non-availability of enough prey - black buck, gazelle and hare - led to the extinction of the cat in India (1952). The advent of climate change and growing human populations have only made these problems worse.
• With help from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India, the ministry will be translocating around 8-12 cheetahs from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. These countries have large population of cheetahs.
• The Cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952.