Cheetahs Once Again Live in India After 70 Years
2022-09-24
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1For the first time since 1952, wild cheetahs are living in India.
2Eight of the big cats arrived Saturday from the southern African nation of Namibia.
3They are part of a reintroduction program and will live in a large open space.
4Cheetahs once lived in India, but died out about 70 years ago.
5Scientists hope the cats will learn to hunt deer and other wild animals in the area.
6And they hope the cheetahs will reproduce.
7The cheetahs coming to Africa are slightly different from the Asian ones which were widespread in India.
8Those died out due to hunting and human population growth.
9There are very few Asian cheetahs remaining, mostly in Iran.
10Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the cats into the wild on Saturday.
11"When the cheetah will run again ... grasslands will be restored, biodiversity will increase and eco-tourism will get a boost," Modi said.
12Nature experts hope that as more people learn about the cheetahs in India, they will be interested in working to save the grasslands on which they live.
13In many countries, the places where cheetahs live are getting smaller and smaller due to human population growth and climate change.
14Cheetahs once lived throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East, but now, however, they live on just 9 percent of that original land.
15There are about 7,000 adult cheetahs in the world.
16Laurie Marker is a researcher with the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
17She said she hopes the cheetahs can find an "appropriate" home in India.
18If they survive, spread out and have babies, the area where they live could support 21 cheetahs.
19"To save cheetahs from extinction, we need to create permanent places for them on earth," Marker said.
20In South Africa, however, cheetahs are running out of space.
21So groups such as Marker's are looking for new cheetah homes.
22Four cheetahs recently captured in South Africa were sent to the East African country of Mozambique.
23Twelve cheetahs from South Africa are currently waiting to be sent to India's Kuno National Park.
24While many are celebrating the cheetah relocation project, others think it is too early in the project to form an opinion.
25Mayuk Chatterjee is with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
26He said there could be "unintended" effects of the move.
27"The question remains: How well it's done."
28One concern is how the cheetahs will affect other animals such as hyenas, a kind of wild dog, or birds.
29Another is what will happen if the cheetahs do too well.
30People in India are currently worried about tigers.
31A fast rise in the population of the large cats has led to more tiger-human interactions.
32The cheetahs from Namibia will wear tracking devices around their necks.
33They will start off in a smaller safe area for one month before they are released to a larger area.
34They will be living in the same area as deer and antelope.
35Scientists hope the cheetahs will learn how to hunt them.
36Other predators, such as bears and leopards, will not be able to get into the area.
37The project is expected to cost more than $11 million.
38It includes relocating a small village on the edge of the cheetah area.
39About $6 million of the cost will be paid by state-run Indian Oil.
40The African cheetahs are distant family members of the cheetahs that once lived in Asia.
41Early on, the hope was to bring in Asiatic cheetahs, but there are too few.
42There are still concerns about whether the project will work.
43One expert thinks it would be better to work on saving the cheetahs where they live.
44Pamela Burger studies conservation genetics at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria.
45She calls the future of the cheetahs in India "questionable" and says, "it would be better to conserve them now where they are..."
46But another researcher, Adrian Tordiffe, said it has not been easy to keep the African cheetahs safe, and sometimes they need help to get to places where they can live more easily.
47Tordiffe is an animal doctor and wildlife specialist who worked on the cheetah relocation project.
48He said India has shown an ability to keep large cats safe because of strong conservation laws.
49For example, the population of tigers has increased by almost 100 percent in the last 15 years.
50"We cannot sit back and hope that species like the cheetah will survive on their own without our help," he said.
51I'm Dan Friedell.
1For the first time since 1952, wild cheetahs are living in India. 2Eight of the big cats arrived Saturday from the southern African nation of Namibia. 3They are part of a reintroduction program and will live in a large open space. Cheetahs once lived in India, but died out about 70 years ago. Scientists hope the cats will learn to hunt deer and other wild animals in the area. And they hope the cheetahs will reproduce. 4The cheetahs coming to Africa are slightly different from the Asian ones which were widespread in India. Those died out due to hunting and human population growth. There are very few Asian cheetahs remaining, mostly in Iran. 5Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the cats into the wild on Saturday. 6"When the cheetah will run again ... grasslands will be restored, biodiversity will increase and eco-tourism will get a boost," Modi said. 7Nature experts hope that as more people learn about the cheetahs in India, they will be interested in working to save the grasslands on which they live. 8In many countries, the places where cheetahs live are getting smaller and smaller due to human population growth and climate change. Cheetahs once lived throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East, but now, however, they live on just 9 percent of that original land. 9There are about 7,000 adult cheetahs in the world. 10Laurie Marker is a researcher with the Cheetah Conservation Fund. She said she hopes the cheetahs can find an "appropriate" home in India. If they survive, spread out and have babies, the area where they live could support 21 cheetahs. 11"To save cheetahs from extinction, we need to create permanent places for them on earth," Marker said. 12In South Africa, however, cheetahs are running out of space. So groups such as Marker's are looking for new cheetah homes. 13Four cheetahs recently captured in South Africa were sent to the East African country of Mozambique. Twelve cheetahs from South Africa are currently waiting to be sent to India's Kuno National Park. 14While many are celebrating the cheetah relocation project, others think it is too early in the project to form an opinion. 15Mayuk Chatterjee is with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He said there could be "unintended" effects of the move. "The question remains: How well it's done." 16One concern is how the cheetahs will affect other animals such as hyenas, a kind of wild dog, or birds. Another is what will happen if the cheetahs do too well. People in India are currently worried about tigers. A fast rise in the population of the large cats has led to more tiger-human interactions. 17The cheetahs from Namibia will wear tracking devices around their necks. They will start off in a smaller safe area for one month before they are released to a larger area. They will be living in the same area as deer and antelope. Scientists hope the cheetahs will learn how to hunt them. Other predators, such as bears and leopards, will not be able to get into the area. 18The project is expected to cost more than $11 million. It includes relocating a small village on the edge of the cheetah area. About $6 million of the cost will be paid by state-run Indian Oil. 19The African cheetahs are distant family members of the cheetahs that once lived in Asia. Early on, the hope was to bring in Asiatic cheetahs, but there are too few. 20There are still concerns about whether the project will work. One expert thinks it would be better to work on saving the cheetahs where they live. 21Pamela Burger studies conservation genetics at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria. She calls the future of the cheetahs in India "questionable" and says, "it would be better to conserve them now where they are..." 22But another researcher, Adrian Tordiffe, said it has not been easy to keep the African cheetahs safe, and sometimes they need help to get to places where they can live more easily. 23Tordiffe is an animal doctor and wildlife specialist who worked on the cheetah relocation project. He said India has shown an ability to keep large cats safe because of strong conservation laws. For example, the population of tigers has increased by almost 100 percent in the last 15 years. 24"We cannot sit back and hope that species like the cheetah will survive on their own without our help," he said. 25I'm Dan Friedell. 26Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 27________________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29reintroduction -adj. the act of returning something to where it once was 30biodiversity -n. the existence of many different types of plants or animals in an area 31ecotourism -n. the practice of traveling to beautiful or natural places for pleasure, in a way that does not hurt the environment there 32boost -v. to increase the power or force of something 33appropriate -adj. right or suited for a purpose or situation 34extinction -n. the result when something has died out completely 35relocation -n. to move something to a new place 36unintended -adj. not expected or not done on purpose 37track -v. to follow something 38predator -n. an animal that hunts and eats other animals 39conservation -n. the act of taking care of plants and animals or the environment 40species -n. a group of animals that are similar and can produce young 41_______________________________________________________________________ 42We want to hear from you. Do you think the cheetahs will be safe in India? 43We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 44Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.