Are we sinking African cheetahs in India?

Abstract

Failed conservation actions waste money and can result in sink populations where species decline and ultimately may go extinct. We, therefore, cannot afford any failed conservation efforts, and poor conservation decisions should be avoided. The recent translocation of 20 African cheetahs, Acinonyx jubatus jubatus – 8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa – to a reserve in India, with the aim to establish a free-ranging population of cheetahs in and around the release site, and with further multiple translocations planned from South Africa, raises concerns regarding the scientific basis of these translocations and their contribution to conservation. Recent statements by project scientific advisory members that it is actually an “experimental reintroduction of cheetahs into India”1, suggesting that the outcome is uncertain, raises additional ethical concerns. We clarify these concerns and suggest future actions in the context that this initiative may serve as a sink for African cheetahs.