In fact, so great was the enthusiasm to bring the cheetah back that the Hyderabad-based Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species suggested cloning the animal, much on the lines of Dolly the sheep. The underlying logic was that if it could thrive in the olden days, a reintroduced species could thrive in the country once again. In 1952, the cheetah was officially declared extinct in India and soon talk began of bringing it back home by importing it from countries where it still survives. A ruthless killer of innocent animals, which also included 1,150 tigers, he shot the last three known male cheetahs of the same litter in just one day, in 1947. In fact, the last one to put a bullet in the proverbial coffin of this graceful big cat was Maharajah Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya, in Chattisgarh, (which was a part of Madhya Pradesh then). In the end, relentless hunting by emperors and maharajas led to its extinction in its homeland. Unfortunately, the animal couldn’t outrun human capacity for cruelty and bloodlust. I say national pride because the cheetah once graced the grasslands of India with its beauty and speed. India, which already has 5 of the 8 big cats, has been hankering to bring the fastest animal in the world to its shores, as a matter of national pride.
One can only wish the beautiful and graceful animal the best of luck in making a successful comeback in its erstwhile homeland.Īs across India, the cases of man-animal conflict increase on a daily basis and we hear of leopards, elephants, pythons, deer, monitor lizards et al, straying into human habitations as their own habitats shrink due to relentless encroachment by an ever-growing human population, the country is gearing up to welcome yet another big cat species, the cheetah, in August, this year. Whether the plan will succeed or it will be money down the drain, only time will tell.
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