A spokesperson from the South African government has said the country’s Minister for Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Dion George, will conduct a review of the cheetah translocation project in India and “consider all the available science,” before proceeding with any further cheetah exports.
India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the South African government for a period of five years in January 2023, where it was agreed that the latter would export cheetahs to India with the aim of reviving their population after they went extinct in 1952. A batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa joined eight others from Namibia in February 2023.
But Project Cheetah, as it has come to be known, has drawn controversy from conservationists in India and abroad. Nine imported adults and nine out of 26 cubs born in India have since died due to kidney failure, skin infections, fighting, and extreme heat. Conservationists from South Africa have opposed the translocation, calling the mortalities “unjustifiable.”
The aim of the project is to establish cheetah meta-populations in select locations, to effectively revive their population and protect grassland ecosystems, the Indian government has said. In April, two South African cheetahs were sent to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. The government is now reportedly looking to supplement the cheetah population from countries like Kenya and Botswana, apart from South Africa.
In a statement to Mongabay India, South Africa’s spokesperson Thoubile Zulu-Molobi said South Africa values regional cooperation, and that before further exports are considered, “the Minister will be visiting India to observe the previously exported cheetahs.” Exports will be reviewed on a case-to-case basis, informed by “scientific assessments” on the translocated cheetahs, and based on an analysis of population viability in South Africa, to ensure further exports are non-detrimental to native populations.
An official from the Union Ministry of Environment, who was not authorised to speak to the media, told Mongabay India that the South African government’s request was part of due diligence and not a deviation from the MoU. Under the MoU, India is obligated to provide quarterly progress reports of the project to South Africa.
“The visit is yet to be concluded and as of now, Minister George has been sent a formal invite,” said the official, adding, “India shall apply for the next batch of cheetahs from South Africa after receiving a green signal from the Government of South Africa, though this was conveyed to them by [an Indian] delegation which visited South Africa in June.”
Banner image: A female cheetah translocated to India from Namibia. Representative image. Image courtesy of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
