NEW DELHI, 9 Jun: A new paper published on Monday described the criticism of Project Cheetah, which seeks to reintroduce the big cat to India more than 70 years after its extinction in the country, as “ideologically biased, scientifically unfounded and rooted in misinformation.”
Published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, the paper, titled ‘Beyond rhetoric: Debunking myths and misinformation on India’s Project Cheetah’ addressed concerns ranging from animal welfare to scientific validity and community impact.
The paper, written by environment ministry officials, including National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Member Secretary GS Bhardwaj, said that while “constructive criticism is essential,” the discourse around Project Cheetah has been “characterized by self-referential arguments, selective use of literature and a disproportionate emphasis on negative outcomes.”
It said that “critics have misrepresented key aspects, such as the use of soft-release bomas, ethical concerns and veterinary interventions, while ignoring the project’s adaptive management strategies and measurable progress.”
One of the most frequent criticisms has been that the cheetahs are being kept in captivity.
The paper said the cheetahs in Kuno (Madhya Pradesh) are neither held in artificial structures nor dependent on human provisioning. Instead, they were initially held in soft-release bomas, fenced natural enclosures, which are internationally recognised in carnivore reintroductions.
It added that the bomas allow cheetahs “to hunt independently and exhibit natural behaviours while acclimatizing to their new environment.”
The authors cited international studies showing that this model can “increase the odds of reintroduction success by 2.5-fold.”
Some critics have described cheetah births at Kuno as captive breeding. However, the paper strongly rejected this claim.
“Cheetahs cannot be forced to breed, even in controlled environments,” the paper said, citing how it took Western zoos more than four decades to achieve successful breeding.
In contrast, “the fact that translocated cheetahs in Kuno have produced 25 cubs from six successful litters in 2.5 years… demonstrates that these animals are in a stress-free, near-natural environment,” it said.
The paper also said that the cubs born in Kuno are nurtured and raised entirely by their mothers without any form of human intervention.
Responding to questions around cheetah deaths, the NTCA said mortality is a natural and expected part of any translocation effort.
The paper said, “The cheetah mortality rate in Kuno has remained well below the anticipated threshold of 50 percent.”
In fact, “adult cheetah survival rates in Kuno were 70 percent in the first year and reached 85.71 percent in the second year.”
For cubs, the survival rate over 2.5 years stood at 66.67 percent, which officials called a “significant figure,” given the species’ tendency for high infant mortality in the wild.
The officials, however, said that unforeseen challenges, including an unseasonal winter coat, tick infestations, and associated infections, resulted in multiple mortalities in free ranging settings.
They also refuted the notion that Project Cheetah was launched hastily or without scientific basis.
“The decision to introduce cheetahs in India was not made impulsively,” they wrote, referring to a consultative meeting held as early as 2009 with IUCN experts, NGOs and academic institutions. Subsequent assessments, including site evaluations and disease risk analyses, followed international protocols.
Critics have also questioned whether India’s landscape is suitable for cheetahs. The officials cited global research and early data from Kuno suggesting that cheetahs are far more adaptable than previously assumed.
“Contrary to the assumption that cheetahs are savanna specialists, several studies reveal their adaptability to diverse habitats and prey types,” the paper said.
The authors said that while critics cite the number of medical interventions (90 immobilizations), this “equates to around two immobilizations per cheetah per year, a reasonable figure, given the range of necessary management interventions.”
Critics have also argued that the project harmed local communities.
The paper clarified that “only one village has been relocated” since the project’s start and that too with full consent of the village gram sabha under legal provisions.
The paper added that the project has brought benefits to local people, including “employment as forest watchers or cheetah trackers, guides and drivers, and improved infrastructure.”
Seventy years after cheetahs went extinct in India, the government launched Project Cheetah to establish a sustainable population of the big cat in the country.
As part of the reintroduction effort, 20 African cheetahs have been brought to the Kuno National Park – eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023.
Since then, 26 cheetah cubs have been born in India, of which 19 have survived. Eleven cubs are roaming free in the wild, while the rest are in enclosures at Kuno. (PTI)
