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The case for the reintroduction of cheetahs to India

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 7, pages 480–481 (2023)Cite this article

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In a recent Correspondence to Nature Ecology & Evolution, Gopalaswamy et al.1 are critical of the reintroduction of cheetahs into India, referring broadly to ecological, genetic and disease risks that they feel have not been considered in replacing Asiatic cheetahs with the southern African subspecies. They further assert that three claims made in India’s planned reintroduction are unsubstantiated: that cheetahs have run out of space in Africa; that there is currently sufficient and suitable space in India to accommodate them; and that conservation translocations of cheetahs have demonstrated success in range restoration efforts. They also argue that cheetahs naturally occur at low population densities, making them sensitive to the removal of individuals from source populations.

We have been involved in scientifically advising on the Indian reintroduction project, and we respectfully disagree. Herein, we address each of Gopalaswamy and colleagues’ arguments and offer scientific evidence in support of this ongoing, restorative conservation effort.

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Fig. 1: A successful hunt.

References

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Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Adrian S. W. Tordiffe, Yadvendradev V. Jhala.

  2. Deceased: Mark R. Stanley Price.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Adrian S. W. Tordiffe & Leith R. C. Meyer

  2. Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Research, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Adrian S. W. Tordiffe & Leith R. C. Meyer

  3. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India

    Yadvendradev V. Jhala

  4. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Luigi Boitani

  5. Cheetah Conservation Fund, Otjiwarongo, Namibia

    Bogdan Cristescu, Anne Schmidt-Küntzel & Laurie Marker

  6. Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia

    Bogdan Cristescu

  7. Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK

    Richard A. Kock

  8. Munyawana Conservancy (Phinda Private Game Reserve), Hluhluwe, South Africa

    Simon Naylor

  9. Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Ft Lauderdale, FL, USA

    Stephen J. O’Brien

  10. WildCRU, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Mark R. Stanley Price

  11. The Metapopulation Initiative, Polokwane, South Africa

    Vincent van der Merwe

Authors
  1. Adrian S. W. Tordiffe
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  2. Yadvendradev V. Jhala
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  3. Luigi Boitani
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  4. Bogdan Cristescu
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  7. Simon Naylor
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  8. Stephen J. O’Brien
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  9. Anne Schmidt-Küntzel
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  10. Mark R. Stanley Price
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  11. Vincent van der Merwe
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  12. Laurie Marker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adrian S. W. Tordiffe.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Tordiffe, A.S.W., Jhala, Y.V., Boitani, L. et al. The case for the reintroduction of cheetahs to India. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 480–481 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02002-2

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