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The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is set to introduce cheetahs from South Africa in a Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. It is an attempt to rehabilitate the species that had become extinct in the country.
When did the Cheetahs become extinct in India?
Source: TOI
The earliest records of the cheetah are seen in cave paintings at Kharvai and Karabad in MP, among others, dating back to 2500-2300 BCE.
The last documented Cheetah’s vanished from India when Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya (in present-day Chhattisgarh) shot three Asiatic cheetahs in 1947. Soon after, in 1952, the cheetah was declared extinct in the country.
The main reasons behind the cheetah’s extinction were capture in large numbers, human encroachment in their habitat and a decline in availability of prey.
Cheetah Reintroduction Plans
Source: The post is based on the article “After 75 Years, Will Cheetahs Make India Their Home Again?” published in TOI on 9th June 2022.
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