India plans to introduce up to 36 cheetahs in Kuno National Park, but conservationists warn the habitat isn’t big enough to support a stable population
One of eight cheetahs released in Kuno National Park, India
INDIA PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
India’s ambitious plan to reintroduce cheetahs to the Indian subcontinent, which kicked off on 17 September with the release of eight individuals by prime minister Narendra Modi, is unlikely to succeed because the habitat provided is inadequate, scientists warn.
Only around 6500 adult cheetahs are alive today, most of them in Africa, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), a subspecies that is now only found in Iran, went extinct in …