Three years on, India’s cheetah reintroduction struggles with poor science, delays, and missed grassland goals. In September 2022, the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park was hailed as a conservation milestone. Five months later in February 2024, 12 more spotted cats arrived from South Africa. The initiative, branded Project Cheetah, carried lofty ambitions. It aimed not just to restore the world’s fastest land animal to India’s landscapes, but to revive open natural ecosystems (ONEs) — the grasslands, scrublands, and savannahs that are among the country’s most neglected habitats. By reintroducing a top predator, policymakers hoped to spark wider conservation attention, diversify India’s wildlife portfolio beyond tigers and forests, and make ecological amends for a human-caused extinction. The Cheetah Action Plan set out a clear roadmap: import 5–10 cheetahs annually for a decade, create a metapopulation across multiple states, secure and restore grassland hab...
It is always disheartening to carry a picture of a dead tiger . This young tiger was killed by poachers near Panna tiger reserve . About four days after the death, body of this male tiger was found hanging from a tree from a clutch wire- used in motor bikes. The picture gives an impression as if the tiger committed suicide. This is the second such incident in the region. Around four years ago, the body of a tiger was found hanging from a tree in the core area of the tiger reserve. Poachers Are Active On the cold December morning on Wednesday, the forest department officials in Panna and Chattarpur received a message of the tiger's death. As the investigations started by afternoon on December 7, officials of the Special Task Force, the Tiger Strike Force and local police arrived at the scene. Sniffer dogs were deployed . We will update the story whenever some development take place. The crime scene is located...