Eight Namibian cheetahs arrive in India, decades after their local extinction, in a project to reintroduce the big cats that has divided experts on its chances for success
A cheetah rests after being prepared for its translocation to India at the CCF centre in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. Efforts to reintroduce the animals to India gathered pace in 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled that African cheetahs, a different subspecies, could be settled in India at a "carefully chosen location" on an experimental basis.
Negotiations are ongoing for similar translocation from South Africa, with vets suggesting 12 cats could be moved. However, critics have warned the creatures may struggle to adapt to the Indian habitat. “It would be better to conserve them now where they are than to put effort in creating new sites where the outcome is questionable,” she said.