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Cheetahs are back in India but conservationists have doubts over plan

India plans to introduce up to 36 cheetahs in Kuno National Park, but conservationists warn the habitat isn't big enough to support a stable population

By Lou Del Bello

21 September 2022

A cheetah in Kuno National Park

One of eight cheetahs released in Kuno National Park, India

INDIA PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/S​hutterstock

India’s ambitious plan to reintroduce cheetahs to the Indian subcontinent, which kicked off on 17 September with the release of eight individuals by prime minister Narendra Modi, is unlikely to succeed because the habitat provided is inadequate, scientists warn.

, most of them in Africa, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), a subspecies that is now only found in Iran, went extinct in India in 1952.

Now, the…

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