Rajasthan’s New Cheetahs
Driven to extinction in India more than 60 years ago the cheetah may be making a return to Rajasthan in the near future. Plans to reintroduce the beautiful cats from Africa are well under way and the location has already been picked. Just outside Bikaner, the Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary, is ideal habitat and was the former hunting ground of the Maharaja of Bikaner.
“We had planned to bring cheetahs from Iran, but they are not keen…we are now thinking of bringing them from South Africa, Namibia, Kenya or Tanzania” the minister in charge said. The last cheetah in India was spotted in Madhya Pradesh in 1947 but was then shot by the Maharaja who ruled over the area. A meeting of cheetah experts will take place in September to decide when the cheetahs could be brought to India and if Gajner is the best location for them.
Click here to see a video of a cheetahs hunting in India in 1938.
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