Roaring question: Will cheetahs in India outrun their enemies?

They may be the fastest runners in the grasslands of Africa, but cheetah’s race for survival in India has picked up speed only now.

Corralled in the large enclosures of Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park till recently, the cheetahs’ long acclimatisation gave enough ammunition to the naysayers. There were some very strong voices expressing vehement opposition to the cheetah re-introduction project from day one. This group included a couple of wildlife scientists and coffee table book writers.

Now, of course, a hushed silence has gripped the dissenters group.

On Monday, female cheetah Gamini and four cubs were released from their closures. The development comes shortly after five cheetahs were taken out of the enclosure and freed in the forest of Kuno.

Also read | Cheetah Gamini, 4 cubs released into wild in MP's Kuno National Park

As of this moment, 17 cheetahs — six adults and 11 cubs — have been taken out of the enclosures. They are roaming free in Kuno and even tourists are beginning to catch their glimpse.

What’s really important is that the adult cheetahs have started hunting deer and other smaller prey in Kuno. A few pictures doing the rounds on social media, clicked by tourists, establish their hunting skill.

But does this mean everything is going well with the cheetahs and their introduction plan? The responses are mixed.

Also read | The inside story of the Cheetah homecoming

Freeing the cheetahs in the wild of Kuno is one thing. Even their taking down prey with ease is mere affirmation of the hunting prowess which all members of the cat family exhibit in the wild. A case in point is that of the famous tigress Arrowhead of Ranthambore. When she became incapacitated last year after a fight with a crocodile, the forest officials fed her with live bait. Her three cubs, hardly few weeks old, were given meat at regular intervals.

Arrowhead with her cubs. Photo: Instagram/@anirudh_laxmipathy

Otherwise they would have perished in no time.

But in one year or so, Arrowhead’s cubs, who did not learn the necessary hunting technique from their mother, have become expert hunters. This has happened because, when the need arises and the question of survival stares a young animal in the face, nature itself turns into a teacher.

For the cheetahs of Kuno, the ability to bag prey will be crucial to sustain their life, but not sufficient to ensure their survival in the forests. Too many dangers, both seen and unseen, lurk in India’s wilderness.

For one, the cheetahs will have a direct competition with the leopards of the area- and there are quite a few in Kuno. But the bigger threat comes from humans.

Kuno is surrounded on all sides by dozens of villages, and all members of the cat family — tigers, leopards and even lions at times — have had to pay a heavy price in the inevitable man-animal conflicts in different parts of the country.

Cheetahs will have no automatic protection from this conflict. Right now all the freed cheetahs are radio-collared and being monitored day and night by the forest staff of Kuno.

But for how long? Once they proliferate and spread out, the layers of official protection they enjoy will wear off. From that point will start their litmus test of survival.

Look no further, we have faced a similar situation before. This concerns tigers, and their heroic battle for survival during the past 52 years.

When former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched Project Tiger in 1973, the tigers in India were staring at almost certain extinction. But with the passage of time and due to strict administrative measures, their numbers started increasing till late 90s. And then they started falling drastically. By 2010 or so, only 1,411 wild tigers were left in India. The naysayers had a field day, but not for too long.

Efforts by successive governments ensured the tiger’s survival in India. Today their population stands at a healthy 3,682 (maybe it’s too healthy for their own good, but that’s a story for another day).

It’s likely that cheetah reintroduction project will face similar ups and downs, alternate moments of gloom and elation. It’s too early to say whether the cheetahs in India will reach the finishing post. After all, they are running a marathon and not a 100-metre sprint.

A fresh development, which hopefully will secure better future for the cheetahs, is the government recently earmarking two additional places for their relocation: Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Banni grasslands in Gujarat. It’s a tried-and-tested strategy, of not putting all the eggs in one basket.