I sat open mouthed, unable to say a thing when I read the news. Unfortunately, it was not anything positive. It was about re-introducing cheetahs in India.
I feel that this would be a very irresponsible step on our part. I do not think the cheetah has a very bright chance for survival, considering –
a) We do not have a prey base that can support an additional predator. Had we been in the Jim Corbett era, when jungles were abundant and healthy, teeming with prey, it would have been possible.
b) We have been proved incapable of conserving our wildlife effectively and thus, the cheetah will have very bleak chances of survival.
c) Our priority at the moment is the conservation of the indigenous tiger. Why are we deviating from it?
d) The money we will be investing in the whole cheetah experiment can be better utilized by trying to save the flora and fauna that is indigenous.
I hope we find answers to these questions before we go ahead with what seems a rather imprudent step!
I feel that this would be a very irresponsible step on our part. I do not think the cheetah has a very bright chance for survival, considering –
a) We do not have a prey base that can support an additional predator. Had we been in the Jim Corbett era, when jungles were abundant and healthy, teeming with prey, it would have been possible.
b) We have been proved incapable of conserving our wildlife effectively and thus, the cheetah will have very bleak chances of survival.
c) Our priority at the moment is the conservation of the indigenous tiger. Why are we deviating from it?
d) The money we will be investing in the whole cheetah experiment can be better utilized by trying to save the flora and fauna that is indigenous.
I hope we find answers to these questions before we go ahead with what seems a rather imprudent step!
Wouldn't diversifying the predator (tiger,cheetah) population be a correct step instead of just concentrating the efforts on only one species of predators (tiger)?
ReplyDeleteAnd pardon my ignorance, but isn't the cheetah an ingenious species to India and only has been pushed to the brink of extinction because of lack of natural resources.
Yup, that's true! But how can we imagine that we will be able to sustain a population on cheetahs when we aren't able to successfully manage 1000 tigers??
ReplyDeleteYup, the cheetah was indigenous to India, but the African one is a cousin... not the same as the Indian.. :(