Indian authorities plan to reintroduce the world’s fastest land animal, the cheetah, to its grasslands, decades after the cat became extinct in the country in 1947, a news report said.
India’s Environment and Forest Ministry unveiled the plan and will allow six months to select a terrain for the spotted cat, which will be imported from Namibia or other African countries, the Hindu newspaper reported.
Against a world population of 100,000 at the turn of the previous century, the number of cheetahs has declined to less than 10,000. Along with India, 15 other countries witnessed the extinction of the animal over the past 60 years.
At a recent meeting held in the north-western state of Rajasthan, government officials, conservationists and cheetah experts agreed on the plan but were “cautious in their commitment,” the report said.
National parks and sanctuaries in four Indian states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh — have been shortlisted as potential homes for the cheetah.
Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh acknowledges that some people will accuse the scheme of being a pipe dream. “Many people are thrilled about the prospect. Many are critical, saying there is no habitat available and that when India cannot protect its national animal — the tiger — why should it embark on this venture?” he said in a message to the conference.
“Personally I feel that we would be reclaiming a part of our wonderful and varied ecological history if the cheetah was to be reintroduced in the wild,” Ramesh was quoted as saying by the daily.
Although India was keen on buying Asiatic cheetahs from Iran, its efforts failed. Iran is the only home of the Asiatic cheetahs, with an estimated population of 100 cats.
Indian officials are now interested in getting the animals from African countries that account for a majority of the cheetah population. Namibia has the most, with about 2,500.
The cheetah is the fastest land animal, reaching speeds of about 112kph in bursts covering distances of up to 450m. It has the ability to accelerate from zero to 100kph in a little over six seconds. (dpa)
媒體報導，印度當局計劃重新引進地表速度最快的動物「獵豹」回到境內草原，該貓科動物一九四七年在印度絕跡，距今已數十年。
《印度報》報導，印度環境暨林業部公佈了這項計畫並打算以六個月的時間，為這種渾身斑點的貓科動物尋覓居住環境；印度計畫自那米比亞或其他非洲國家引進獵豹。
和上世紀末、本世紀初的十萬頭相比，目前全球獵豹數量已驟減至一萬頭以下。過去六十年來，還有另外十五個國家也經歷了獵豹絕跡的情況。
報導指出，最近在西北部拉賈斯坦省舉行的一場會議中，政府官員、保育人士和獵豹專家都同意這項計劃，但是他們「不敢擔保」計畫會成功。
列入考慮的獵豹棲息地包括：拉賈斯坦、馬德雅、古查拉和恰蒂斯加爾四個省分的國家公園和禁獵保護區。
環境暨林業部長賈伊拉姆．拉梅希表示，他知道有些人會指責這項計畫太不切實際，根本行不通。他發給媒體的聲明中指出：「許多人對這項計畫感到興奮。也有很多人批評說，國內根本就沒有適合獵豹的棲息地，而且如果印度連自己的國獸「老虎」都保護不了，又何必冒險做這件事呢？」
報導中引述拉梅希的話說：「我個人認為，重新引進野生獵豹能讓我們重拾一段美好且多樣的生態史。」
雖然印度原先希望向伊朗購買亞洲豹，可惜沒有成功，目前全球只剩伊朗仍有亞洲豹出沒，數量估計有一百頭。
現在印度官員將希望放在全球多數獵豹棲息的非洲國家。那米比亞擁有的數量最多，約有兩千五百頭。
獵豹是陸地上速度最快的動物，牠們爆發衝刺的時速高達一百一十二公里，衝刺距離可達四百五十公尺。牠們從時速零加速至一百公里只需短短六秒多。
（德通社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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