# Talk:African cheetah translocation to India

Iranian and Russian ecologists are planning a joint project designed to return to the wild the Caspian Tigers as well as Asiatic Cheetahs in the Central Asian region. These big cats had disappeared, the Asiatic Cheetah from Russia and Caspian Tiger from Iran, some half a century ago. Latest genetic studies have shown that the Russian or Amur Tiger is related and virtually identical to the extinct Caspian Tigers and hence will be used to repopulated the Caspian Tiger range in exchange for Asiatic Cheetahs. 


### RELATED NEWS (for the archival purposes)
Iran, Russia Hope to Revive Extinct Big Cats Asiatiac Cheetah and Caspian Tiger
01/09/2010; Source: Press TV; Payvand Iran News
Iranian and Russian ecologists have announced ambitious plans to return Caspian Tigers as well as Asiatic cheetahs, which disappeared some half a century ago in their countries, to the wild.
PHOTO: Asiatic cheetah
A delegation of Russian ecologists headed by Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Sergey Donskoy arrived in Tehran a week ago to discuss avenues to reestablish the wild cats.
During the meeting, the Iranian ecologists shed light on the prospect of repopulating the jungles in northern Iran with extraordinary Caspian Tiger, which became extinct over 40 years ago.
This is while through modern genetic analysis it has been discovered the Caspian Tiger and the Siberian Tiger, still in existence, are separated by only one letter of genetic code. The Caspian Tiger can be reestablished by using their relative, the Siberian Tiger.

Russian and international conservation groups banned hunting of tiger in 1947, but it was too late for the Caspian Tiger to make a recovery. Poaching and contributing factors wiped out the majestic cat. Conservation efforts, however, did help to protect and stabilize the Siberian Tiger. Fortunately, the subspecies commingling in the distant past will allow the Caspian Tiger to once again take its rightful place in the family tree of tigers.
PHOTO: Caspian Tiger
The Russian ecologist asked for Iranian assistance in revival of Asiatic cheetahs in the northern Caucasus region.
Described as powerful and graceful hunters, cheetahs are the world's fastest animal and easy to train. Cheetahs were trained by ancient Persian kings, who used them to hunt gazelles.
Recognizing the cats' precarious situation, Iran's Department of Environment has worked with the UN Development Program-Global Environment Facility and Wildlife Conservation Society in New York since 2001 to save the only 50 to 60 Asiatic cheetahs which live in the Dasht-e Kavir region of Iran.
Payvand News - 01/09/10
SOURCE: http://www.payvand.com/news/10/jan/1082.html

mrigthrishna (talk) 12:47, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Asiatic Cheetah Blog [1].
Thanks mrigthrishna (talk) 23:36, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

I am creating this section because African Cheetah belongs to Africa so does Zebra and Giraffe. Just bringing a few and introducing them is really stupid and a defeatist strategy. So tomorrow if the Asiatic Lion and Asiatic elephant is extinct it will bring in African Lions and elephants and reintroduce them to India and show case it as Indian. Remember the Made in India Joke!! Mocking is it not?? yes really stupid!! India should focus on conserving whats left and salvage the green cover and remaining forests. Instead of creating a big Zoo for African animals!! Also all that PETA and Jain other Animal loving organization should focus not on stray dogs and cats but species that will soon be extinct that means Forever!! Good that the Asiatic Cheetah survives in IRAN. Don't look at stupid mean international politics but as protection of species!! Don't you like the wild life of Africa yes its African - 100% but the world adores and admires it!! so should Asian countries not quarrel on petty issues and give the Asiatic Lion to IRAN as well as get Asiatic Cheetahs from Iran and introduce them in India!!
Please share your views if you agree??  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Saileshrh (talk • contribs) 15:56, 31 December 2011 (UTC) 

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/extinct-for-60-years-cheetah-is-an-species-in-india-163620-2013-05-19
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/india-cheetah-reintroduction-nauradehi-wildlife-sanctuary-madhya-pradesh-178925-2014-01-30
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/govt-seeks-sc-nod-for-cheetah-project/
https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cheetah-reintroduction-hits-roadblock-for-want-of-funds/articleshow/46063978.cms
https://www.hindustantimes.com/environment/not-foreign-govt-seeks-supreme-court-nod-to-re-introduce-cheetah-in-india/story-W4OxoZHVPkqWf0LUdx7KqK.html
https://www.news18.com/news/india/glimmer-of-hope-for-cheetah-reintroduction-plan-in-india-1718023.html
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/mp-seeks-revival-of-cheetah-reintroduction-project/article24787745.ece
. https://india.mongabay.com/2018/10/indias-policy-flip-flop-on-the-lion-and-cheetah/
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/iucn-has-given-no-objection-to-translocation-of-cheetahs-from-namibia-ntca-tells-sc-118120700866_1.html
. http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/bsip-joins-hands-with-zsi-to-bat-for-bringing-back-cheetahs-as-imports-from-africa-339189
. https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cheetahs-from-namibia-to-be-kept-at-nauradehi-sanctuary-ntca-tells-sc/articleshow/68114800.cms
. https://naidunia.jagran.com/madhya-pradesh/sagar-south-africa-and-namibia-will-give-30-leopards-to-india-will-keep-in-nouradehi-sanctuary-2851859
. https://m.timesofindia.com/city/bhopal/cheetahs-to-run-again-in-jungles-of-madhya-pradesh/articleshow/70546694.cms?fbclid=IwAR0Z-TQiaGe2P2WE5VY3ZhiTf8cDGztjZ8gBUgYopUVApwHua3D11EMA4Ec
. https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/not-against-project-to-relocate-african-cheetah-in-india-says-sc/1590529
. https://m.timesofindia.com/city/ahmedabad/did-gujarat-lose-the-cheetah-race/articleshow/70563576.cms — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ovie11 (talk • contribs) 16:34, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/what-drove-the-charismatic-cheetah-to-extinction-in-india/article30295377.ece DBigXrayᗙ 22:01, 14 December 2019 (UTC)
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/09/can-india-bring-back-cheetah/598066/--DBigXrayᗙ 19:44, 13 February 2020 (UTC)

https://www.oneindia.com/india/supreme-court-allows-introduction-of-african-cheetahs-in-india-3022601.html  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.33.5.73 (talk) 17:05, 28 January 2020 (UTC) 

1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/raj-gujarat-look-to-beatmp-in-hosting-cheetahs/story-Ne316RB94hd5rtTGljOzWM.html 
2. https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/mar/03/gujarat-keen-on-hosting-cheetah-2111359.html 
3. https://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-st-jaipur/20200203/281599537484436 
4. https://www.bhaskar.com/rajasthan/jaisalmaer/news/rajasthan-news-chances-of-cheetah-century-increased-in-tourism-may-add-new-chapter-085006-6593518.html 
5. https://www.jagran.com/news/national-velavadar-national-park-attempt-to-resettle-completely-extinct-cheetah-from-country-20098704.html 
6. https://m.patrika.com/amp-news/sheopur-news/committee-will-come-to-explore-the-possibilities-of-african-cheeta-5870006/  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ovie11 (talk • contribs) 23:07, 10 March 2020 (UTC) 

Please use these to update the Wikipedia page 
https://wii.gov.in/cheetah_introduction_technical_report_2021?fbclid=IwAR0Rt7AsCCJrt6s0Vv08U12dkyDK2yYsbsWZVVzDNxByyoErYJ_LlxoF8EU  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ovie11 (talk • contribs) 19:38, 9 January 2021 (UTC) 
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/3-sites-in-mp-selected-for-hosting-cheetah-officials-to-train-in-africa-101611051513469.html

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-imports-african-cheetahs-big-cat-locally-extinction-7237807/  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ovie11 (talk • contribs) 17:08, 24 March 2021 (UTC) 

1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bhopal-news/eight-cheetahs-to-be-translocated-from-africa-to-mp-s-kuno-national-park-101621622571494.html

https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/cheetah-to-be-re-introduced-in-india-from-africa-in-november-mp-govt/articleshow/82880654.cms

https://wii.gov.in/images/images/documents/publications/action_plan_cheetah_introduction_jan_2022.pdf  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ovie11 (talk • contribs) 02:38, 19 January 2022 (UTC) 

Please feel free to add this because this is based on reliable source and more useful information to add to the page. Ovie11 (talk) 17:09, 2 February 2025 (UTC)
This is not a peer-reviewed secondary source, only a government memorandum of intention. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 23:13, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/cheetahs-india-south-africa-arrival-8452484/lite/ Ovie11 (talk) 22:45, 13 March 2023 (UTC)

The statement - "By the beginning of the twentieth century, the species was already heading for extinction in many areas. There were certain places more affected by this problem than others. The Indian reserves were not very thoughtful when creating habitat loss for these oversized cats." has no sources cited. Historians note a declining trend in cheetah population by beginning of twentieth century but not nearing extinction. "There were certain places more affected than others", sounds vague and uncorroborated. Furthermore, which Indian reserves are being referred to in the text? 
The extinction section glosses over the fact that cheetahs were hunted during the british/colonial rule as bounties by the administration . Rangarajan also found that cheetahs were bounty-hunted by the colonial administration in fairly large numbers, with rewards ranging from Rs 6 for cubs to up to Rs 18 for an adult. According to his research, between 1870 and 1925 the average number of cheetahs killed for rewards was 1.2 a year. This is higher than the number of cheetahs previously reported to be killed and speared between 1800 and 1950, which totalled 127, or a statistical average of less than one a year. . 
Or about cheetah taming and capturing during the mughal era. In his paper Lions, Cheetahs, and Others in the Mughal Landscape, wildlife historian and conservationist Divyabhanusinh wrote that there was a “crucial” difference between the lion and the cheetah in the Mughal era.
“The former was an object, the ultimate object being royal game, to be dispatched in style when encountered. The cheetah, on the other hand, was to be caught and trained after taming it, as an instrument of shikar (hunting),” he wrote.

While both were mentioned in the history section offering a timeline of the decline would be more beneficial. 
Other references:
1. Kazmi, Raza. "Asiatic Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus in India: A Chronology of Extinction and Related Reports." Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS) 116 (2019): 22-43. 66.76.243.130 (talk) 17:07, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Check out the latest pdf report on the cheetah project in India. 

INTRODUCTION OF CHEETAH IN INDIA https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/Reports/Others/Project_Cheetah_Annual_Report.pdf

Please feel free to add this because this is based on reliable source and more useful information to add to the page.

Project Cheetah in India (2024)
https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/Reports/AITM/Cheetah_narrow_booklet-6x11-lowre.pdf Ovie11 (talk) 19:35, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Not a peer-reviewed secondary source; see above. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 23:14, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

The birth and death in the population take a lot of time to read/get an overview, is it possible to make a graph with the following four categories in one graph, and the change over the years? 
-animals introduced
-introduced cheetah that died
-cubs born
-locally born that died 2A04:EE41:80:D292:5DCB:9052:ADE4:B4D4 (talk) 22:07, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

total panther in India 2409:40C4:2012:A1BE:8000:0:0:0 (talk) 12:03, 4 August 2024 (UTC)
There is no value to this graph.  The population is too small to make any kind of demographic conclusion, and barely two years have elapsed.  The conditions are not those of a national park. They are more like that of a wildlife sanctuary in which humans intervene by way of providing an indeterminate proportion of nutritional needs and (as has been insinuated) by artificially promoting mating. It doesn't help that there are no trained cheetah zoologists in India.  Sorry. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 19:02, 4 August 2024 (UTC)

User:Magentic Manifestations has changed a longstanding lead to an inaccurate and POV-ridden version, the latest in this edit.  Per WP:BRD I have reverted the changes. The WP:ONUS is theirs to discuss the changes on this talk page and make a case for them.  It is Wikipedia policy.  I will therefore revert it one more time to the previous version, where I was being careful, reinstating the minor intermediate edits of others; they, on the other hand, have blindly reverted, without a real thought to the state of the lead, only to their version.  If they engage in edit warring again, I will have no option but to post on the user talk pages of administrators.  Best regards, Fowler&fowler«Talk» 13:23, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

For example, user:Magentic Manifestations (MM hereinafter) have changed the paragraph, replete with citations and quotes:
 The Asiatic cheetah whose long history on the Indian subcontinent gave the Sanskrit-derived vernacular name "cheetah", or "spotted", to the entire species,  Acinonyx jubatus, also had a gradual history of habitat loss there. In Punjab, before the thorn forests were cleared for agriculture and human settlement,  they were intermixed with open grasslands grazed by large herds of blackbuck; these co-existed with their main natural predator, the Asiatic cheetah.  The blackbuck is no longer extant in Punjab. Later, more habitat loss, prey depletion, and trophy hunting were to lead to the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in other regions of India.
to:
The Asiatic cheetah was earlier spread across Western Asia and most of India. The species had a gradual history of habitat loss in India. In Northern India, human activities led to the clearing of forests where they co-existed with their prey blackbuck, and the extirpation of both the species. Later, more habitat loss, prey depletion, and trophy hunting led to the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah from other regions of India.
The Asiatic cheetah page, itself, says, "Its range once spread from the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East to the Caspian region, Transcaucasus, Kyzylkum Desert and northern South Asia, but was extirpated in these regions during the 20th century." That's both a bit more than Western Asia and a bit less that "most of India." In MM's version, "In Northern India, human activities led to the clearing of forests." If we go by the map in the North India page's infobox, not all of North India constituted the cheetah's habitat.  There were no cheetahs in Kashmir, Uttarakhand, or Bengal.  There were in fact no cheetahs originally in the Gangetic Plain as it was heavily forested before the Indo-Aryan languages-speaking migrants into India deforested the plain for agriculture and herding ca 1500–600 BCE.  The citation in MM's version is to R. I. Pocock's edited Fauna of British India, which MM dates to 1939, but the actual survey was carried out from 1911 to 1920, or thereabouts. See the Early life section of one of the first articles I wrote on Wikipedia: Stanley Henry Prater. See also the last section of Herbert Musgrave Phipson another article I wrote 18 years ago.  In other words, they've tried to generalize a vignette about the Punjab and its thorn forests and grasslands—which had been added to catch the reader's interest so they would read on—to a bland, vague, and incorrect summary. In addition, MM has removed two important pictures, one of which is in the India#Biodiversity section of the FA India. And I haven't even mentioned the degradation of readability.
The irony is that they, MM, don't feel they have the WP:ONUS.  I have to defend the version that was in place. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 13:56, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
@Magentic Manifestations: I have mainly only edited the lead, reinstating your main body, with the exception of Ravi Chellam's retrospective of September 2024.  Please take a look at it.  Thanks for all your work! Fowler&fowler«Talk» 03:03, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

1.BRINGING BACK THE CHEETAH TO INDIA Annual Progress Report (2024) https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/Reports/Others/cheetah_annual_report_2023_2024a.pdf
2. ACTION PLAN FOR INTRODUCTION OF СНЕЕТАН IN GANDHISAGAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY,MADHYA PRADESH (2024) https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/Reports/Others/GWLS_Cheetah_Action_PLan_2024_Low_Res.pdf Ovie11 (talk) 01:22, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

Please feel free to add this because this is based on reliable source and more useful information to add to the page. Ovie11 (talk) 17:13, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

On the 5th of December cheetah brothers Agni and Vayu were re-released into the wild of Kuno, an event that seems to have been covered by most large Indian newspapers, with images and videos uploaded on social media. Some examples include:
[2]Indian Express article.
[3]NDTV article with video of the release.
[4]The Wire article
[5]Tweet/Post from Twitter/X from Department of Forest, Government of Madhya Pradesh
[6]Times Of India article
Yet @Fowler&fowler chooses to revert my changes because of bad sources telling me to wait for more credible sources? The release is almost 3 weeks old. I doubt there is going to be any sudden additional coverage of it this late. Also the guy given as an example for a credible source, Ravi Chellam, even reposts articles from Times Of India on his social media account. Why would he do that if it was not credible? So help me understand here. Are you saying every single piece of media is lying about the release? Even with the videos posted on social media by civilians of one of the cheetahs spotted near Sheopur? [7] Also the two sources I tried using have already been used plenty of times elsewhere in the article, so I don't see why it is an issue only for this case. Sandweak (talk) 10:49, 24 December 2024 (UTC)

There are two key principles that we have to uphold:  a) Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. and b) Not everything that is reliable can go into a Wikipedia Article without context.  Please read WP:DUE, which states, "Undue weight can be given in several ways, including but not limited to the depth of detail, the quantity of text, prominence of placement, the juxtaposition of statements, and the use of imagery. In articles specifically relating to a minority viewpoint, such views may receive more attention and space."  In other words, summary style descriptions and due weight are important, especially as an article matures. In a review article, a major zoologist, Ravi Chellam, has summed up the situation of the African cheetahs in Kuno National Park as essentially that of a expanded zoo. Releasing a cheetah or two, on the anniversary of the International Cheetah Day seems more like a managed event than a real demographic trend.  When another review article appears, we'll be happy to summarize it. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 11:39, 24 December 2024 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification, but I still am pretty confused.
In other sections of the article sources like Times Of India and Indian Express are deemed credible and reliable and similarly to my proposed edit announce new releases of cheetahs, yet you did not specify how the situation is different in my edit. You seem to agree that the cheetah releases were conducted so you acknowledge that the edit I made included factual information. So why can't the edit be made? Sure, I am aware of all the problems with the project, but I see no reason why the article should take a political stance and stop being updated with recent unbiased events.
I propose we either make a compromise or we seek further input Wikipedia:3O. A compromise would include my proposed edit highlighting the recent release, but with your clarification about the continuing criticism towards the project. Sandweak (talk) 12:56, 24 December 2024 (UTC)
Per WP:BRD and WP:ONUS, the onus is yours to make a case on the talk page and obtain a consensus for it. It is WP policy. A consensus takes time, at least a week and sometimes more.  It is nowhere near 30, as not even 24 hours have elapsed.  If others had in the past snuck in simple details sources to newspapers, then they too need to be refactored.  I will go through the article after Christmas. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 19:08, 24 December 2024 (UTC)

What has occurred in India in the last two years is the translocation of 20 Southeast African cheetahs to Kuno National Park in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.  This had been permitted on a short-term basis by the Supreme Court of India in January 2020 after many years of misgivings. This page purports to describe the history and current state of that translocation.  
But it was titled, "Cheetah reintroduction in India," which is not only an inaccurate description but was also feeding into the hoopla in the Indian press.  "Reintroduction" means "the action of putting a species of animal or plant back into a former habitat."  Enlarging the description of the "Asiatic" subspecies to the entire species "Cheetah" and then characterizing the experimental, short-term "translocation" to be a grand, much-awaited "reintroduction" after 76 years is unencyclopedic.  WP:COMMONNAME does not apply to descriptive page names. See Non-judgmental descriptive titles
For these reasons, I have moved the page to the NPOV title African cheetah translocation to India. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 17:42, 29 January 2025 (UTC)  Updated.  Fowler&fowler«Talk» 03:45, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

1. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/cheetah-india-africa-botswana-import-reintroduction-project-b2736019.html#
2. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-to-bring-eight-cheetahs-from-botswana-4-of-them-arriving-in-may-8200653/amp/1 Ovie11 (talk) 12:44, 19 April 2025 (UTC)

1. https://www.news18.com/amp/india/two-african-cheetahs-to-be-moved-from-kuno-to-gandhi-sagar-as-govt-eyes-import-of-third-batch-soon-ws-kl-9305144.html
2. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/madhya-pradesh/two-cheetahs-to-be-moved-from-kuno-to-second-home-at-gandhi-sagar-on-april-20/article69465860.ece/amp/ Ovie11 (talk) 12:51, 19 April 2025 (UTC)

1.https://theprint.in/india/in-their-prime-perfectly-wild-kuno-cheetahs-prabhash-pavak-reach-their-new-home/2596185/?amp 
2.https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/madhya-pradesh/two-cheetahs-get-new-home-in-madhya-pradeshs-gandhi-sagar-sanctuary/article69471305.ece/amp/ Ovie11 (talk) 13:52, 20 April 2025 (UTC)

Beyond rhetoric: debunking myths and misinformation on India’s Project Cheetah
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-science/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2025.1605871/full Ovie11 (talk) 09:36, 9 June 2025 (UTC)

I just read it.  It is a defensive Indian government response.  It is not appropriate for a NPOV article which reflects the due weight in the scholarly literature. Fowler&fowler«Talk» 11:02, 9 June 2025 (UTC)

1.https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/madhya-pradesh/as-project-cheetah-turns-three-female-cheetah-relocated-from-kuno-to-gandhisagar/article70062220.ece Ovie11 (talk) 16:57, 17 September 2025 (UTC)