Lion’s future, cheetah’s past

Source: This post is created based on the article “Lion’s future, cheetah’s past” published in Indian Express on 28^th July 2022.

Syllabus: GS Paper 3, Biodiversity conservation

News: Four male and four female African cheetahs will be imported from Namibia in August, to establish the cheetah into its “historical range”.

Cheetahs will be kept in enclosures to get them acquainted with each other and make them habitual of hunting Indian prey species before their release.

After that, they will be released in a phased manner and monitored.

If this process is successful, a few other smaller cheetah reserves will be created in Rajasthan and elsewhere in MP, with the help of fresh supplies from Africa.

What are the challenges associated with Cheetah conservation plan?

The project’s Population Viability Analysis has shown a “high probability of long-term cheetah persistence” or probability of long-term existence in a few conditions, like;

1. If the Cheetah populations exceed 50 individuals, or
2. When smaller populations are managed as an (inter-connected) meta-population.

The solution lies in the South African model. The periodical translocation of individual animals from one fenced-off reserve to another was helpful in maintaining genetic diversity.

However, even with this model, there are many issues that require attention.

What are the concerns linked to the Plan?

Habitat connectivity: In India, there is not much natural connectivity for cheetahs to travel from one habitat to another. Without habitat connectivity, meta-populations cannot be self-sufficient (genetically viable) to perform their ecological roles.

Human interventions: The conservation model that required human intervention for the survival of cheetahs will reduce protected areas to glorified open zoos.

Unclear objectives: The cheetah project also promises to benefit endangered grassland species like endangered Indian wolves and the near-extinct Great Indian Bustard (GIB). However, it is not clear how it will happen. Wolves would have to compete with Cheetahs for prey, and GIB is potential prey for the cheetah.

The Lions vs Cheetahs debate: In April 2013, the Supreme Court (SC) set a six-month deadline for shifting lions to Kuno from Gir. In 2018, in the same case, SC dismissed the contempt case against the government, after its reassurance of following orders.

It is not done yet, instead, an exotic species of Cheetah has been reintroduced in the same area. The objectives of reviving grassland ecosystem services through Cheetahs could have been achieved by Lions.

Furthermore, the government’s draft 25-year plan for Project Lion focuses on assisted natural dispersal with no scope for relocation outside Gujarat.

India’s conservation priority should be saving what can still be saved. The longing to relive the cheetah’s past should not jeopardize the lion’s future.