Cheetahs will have a bright future in India

Wild big cat governance is codified, and handling cheetahs should not be a concern

The cheetah is back in India. Undoubtedly, this is a milestone effort in big cat conservation. The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the lead on this project speaks volumes about the support this project has at the highest levels of governance. The efforts to bring back cheetahs have been humongous. The project has received global acclaim, and rightfully so. There are concerns, however, in some quarters, about its future road map and success. Broadly, these emanate from the experience in Africa, and they relate to its spatial ecology, habitat-carrying capacity, home range, and human-cheetah interface issues.

The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the lead on this project speaks volumes about the support this project has at the highest levels of governance (PIB)

After their release from the pre-release enclosure, the movement patterns of some cheetahs in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, have evoked interest and reactions. Hence, it is important to put things in perspective. Let there be no doubt that the cheetah reintroduction is based on a detailed action plan and is on an assured path to success. This affirmation comes from India’s successful track record of managing wild tigers in the last five decades. As a cat family member, many tiger actions are relevant to cheetahs.

The insights from Africa (Namibia and South Africa) are interesting. There is a great variation in cheetah home ranges across different sites. Resident male cheetahs have been reported to have a range size of 12-350 sq.km, whereas floaters have a larger expanse of 125-1,400 sq.km. Home-range of females varies from 25-600 sq.km. In farmlands, males have been reported to move from 1,300-2,200 sq.km. The core area of males is around 20-70 sq.km., while those of females range from 30-60 sq.km. Overlaps are seen in both. The density also varies across habitats.

Unlike the African savanna habitat, the Kuno habitat is a mix of dry deciduous forest woodlots, open meadows, and empty spaces of relocated villages (24). The habitat is part of the Sheopur-Shivpuri forests landscape with a contiguity of around 6,830 sq.km. The topographical and floral attributes of the Kuno landscapes are not comparable with African savannas and cheetah demography. But all big cats adapt to their environment, and cheetahs are no exception. More technical insights may dispel generalised speculation.

The African insights are from fenced and free-ranging populations, overlapping with agricultural landscapes and woodlots. The field wisdom from Africa is essential. Nevertheless, we need to remember that our protected areas are not like those in Africa -- be it the size, vegetation, animal abundance, natural resource dependency of locals or their governance structure.

Fencing for conservation is not done in India and goes against our ethics of in-situ conservation and envisioned gene flow through a network of protected areas across biogeographic zones. In addition, fencing has substantial ecological costs, and in the Indian context, such barriers would impede wildlife gene porosity.

Our socio-cultural landscape and ethos uniquely shape the Project Tiger conservation philosophy of an “exclusive” core with tiger actions, complemented by an “inclusive” peripheral buffer, with a vibrant co-occurrence agenda leading to community stewardship.

Around five million person-days are generated annually through tiger investments from 18 tiger states and the Centre. This has resulted in local public support, which accounts for the tiger’s success. In addition, tiger actions have evolved over the years centrifugally to embark at a landscape scale, subsuming corridor linkages and eco-sensitive zones. Each of the 18 states has its model of natural resource dependency of local people and related human-tiger interface issues. These have resulted in the codification of Standard Operating Procedures to deal with situations when free-ranging big cats are proximal to human settlements.

The Indian tiger experience has few parallels in the global scenario. The time-tested good practices of dealing with the human-tiger interface and stakeholders in a tiger landscape are the forte of India’s field formations. Wild big cat governance has been codified, and handling cheetahs should not be a concern. The cheetah action plan mentions a landscape of about 3,300 sq.km. in Kuno. A masterplan would be evolved to ensure integration at various levels, viz. spatial, sectoral, scalar, cross-sectoral, intersectoral, vertical, and resource integration to mainstream cheetah concerns among all stakeholders, with mutual gains based on quid pro quo.

The centrality of local people would be an overarching theme through gainful community cheetah stewardship in the venture. The bold Kuno venture is exemplary, and the cheetah has a bright future. Years of well-codified core-buffer-corridor actions on the tiger front and handling the human-tiger interface in 53 reserves spread across 19 states, provide the necessary centrifugal push and confidence for engaging across a larger cheetah landscape.

The cheetah is a multidimensional surrogate index for the sustainability of the ecosystem. Therefore, the cheetah effort will succeed as a mascot of livelihood, sustainable development, and ecosystem well-being, in sync with global sustainable development, biodiversity, climate goals, and a model for securing green investments.

Rajesh Gopal and Himmat Singh Negi are, respectively, secretary-general, and senior adviser, Global Tiger ForumThe views expressed are personal