India Looking At African Nations To Revive Cheetah Population
Author:
First published in Sanctuary Asia,
Vol. 31
No. 3,
March 2011
The efforts to bring cheetahs from South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania started after authorities in Iran conveyed that the animal is virtually extinct there.
"The ideal solution for us would have been to source mother cheetah population from Iran. Unfortunately Iranian cheetah population itself is also virtually extinct. There are no more than 60 cheetahs left in Iran," Ramesh told reporters New Delhi.
"Even though I am in touch with Iranian authorities, own experts say that we will require at least 12 to 18 cheetah to begin with. So we are looking at South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania as three source population for the cheetahs," he said after releasing a booklet titled Critically Endangered Animal Species of India. Read the full report here.
Source: DNA, New Delhi.
