Adding to Gujarat's big cat profile, cheetahs are coming to the state. The Union government approved the state’s proposal to set up a centre to breed the fastest animal on land in Kutch’s Banni grasslands, state forests and environment minister Mulubhai Bera said.
“The Gujarat government has sent a proposal to the National Compensatory Forestation Fund Management Authority under National CAMPA. The executive committee of National CAMPA has granted its approval for setting up a cheetah breeding centre at Banni grasslands in Kutch,” the minister said.
Bera said that cheetahs once roamed the Banni grasslands but had become extinct in the state. “With the proposal having been cleared, cheetahs are expected to roam in the wild yet again in Kutch district,” the minister said.
Records of cheetah hunting in Saurashtra and Dahod date back to 1921, according to wildlife specialists. Until the early 1940s, specialists noted, this non-pantherine big cat was reported to exist in Gujarat in a number of reference journals.
However, experts warned that reintroducing cheetahs in Gujarat, especially in the Kutch area, would be a massive task. “Kutch does not have an adequate prey base. The Gujarat government will have to set up breeding centres and introduce a prey base in this area before cheetahs are brought,” they said.
When Project Cheetah was first launched, five sites were recognised nationwide, and Banni grasslands was one of the appropriate locations for cheetah conservation, according to sources. Meanwhile, in Kuno Palpur, Madhya Pradesh, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Union Forest Ministry prepared a sanctuary for the preservation of Asiatic lions.