African Cheetah To Be Brought In, Supreme Court Clears Project

The African Cheetah will soon be introduced in various sites in India after the Supreme Court green-flagged the project while ordering proper study on the subject.

The Cheetah will be released in an "ideal location" to be decided by a panel after a survey. The process, from identifying the sites to the introduction of the animals, will be monitored by the panel.

The panel will submit its report every four months.

Stating that the rare Indian cheetah is almost extinct in the country, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had filed an application seeking permission for the introduction of the African cheetah from Namibia.

The Supreme Court had earlier struck down the Environment ministry's decision to introduce the African Cheetah, saying that a proper study had not been carried out. The ministry said in a fresh petition that it would introduce the animal after a proper study.

The government's plan, according to reports, is to import the Cheetah from African countries like Namibia and reintroduce them in India.

The Supreme Court rejected the project in May 2012 after some conservationists argued that importing the African cheetah for reintroduction in India was against the International Union for Conservation of Nature's reintroduction guidelines and no clearance had been sought from India's National Board for Wildlife.

Some experts cited scientific studies to argue that the African Cheetahs and Asian Cheetahs are completely different, genetically and also in other ways.

The Supreme Court has been told that the African cheetah will be introduced on an experimental basis in the best suitable habitat to see whether it can adapt to Indian conditions.