3. • What do you know about Cheetah??
• Why do we need Cheetah??
• How may of you wanted to see Cheetah??
• Have you heard that Cheetah got extinct from India??
• Have you heard that Cheetah will be coming back to India??
Few questions may be asked
4. Could you able to recognize these Animals??
Source :Google images
6. Historically ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East and to central
India, the cheetah is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern and
northwestern Africa.
Distribution
Courtesy :IUCN
7. Basic facts
• The word Cheetah is derived from the Sanskrit: चित्रय (Chitra-ya)
meaning 'variegated', 'adorned' or 'painted.
• Cheetahs are the fastest land animal on earth with top speed 113
km/hour
• While running they use their tail to help steer
• Weight :50-64 kg
• Life span 12-13 years
• They are diurnal, hunting in the late morning and early evening.
• Cheetahs can not roar, instead they purr and growl.
Source :Google images
9. Prey Species
Cheetahs mainly eats Gazelles, Wildbeast, Impalas, Wildboar, Chinkara, Blackbuck, Sambar deer and other smaller herbivores.
Source :Google images
10. • Historically, Asiatic cheetahs had a very wide
distribution in India.
• There are authentic reports of their occurrence from
as far north as Punjab to Tirunelveli district in
southern Tamil Nadu, from Gujarat and Rajasthan in
the west to Bengal in the east.
• Most of the records are from a belt extending from
Gujarat passing through Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and
Odisha.
• There is also a cluster of reports from southern
Maharashtra extending to parts of Karnataka,
Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
•
What was the distribution of cheetahs in India?
Source :Google images
11. Cheetah Reintroduction in India
The Reintroduction of Cheetah in
India is a combined efforts of the
Ministry of Environment, Forest &
Climate change (NTCA & WII) in
collaboration with Madhya Pradesh
Forest Department.
Source :Google images
12. Why Cheetah Reintroduction in India ?
• Large carnivores are keystone species in the ecosystems where they inhabit. Their loss
may provoke an imbalance at several levels of the ecosystem.
• The Cheetah is only species extinct from the historical times.
• Bring back cheetahs will provide better management and restoration of wildlife habitats
(Grasslands. Scrublands and open forest ecosystem).
• The cheetah has been the evolutionary natural section force that shaped adaption of high
speed prey species such as antelopes and gazelles.
• The animal charismatic in its own right, therefore, it has special significance for the
National conservation ethics and ethos.
Editor's Notes
Slender long legged body built for speed
Tan in color with block spots all over the body
They can also be distinguished by their smaller size and small head and ears and also distinguished tear stripes from the corner of the eye to side of the nose.
The stripes or "tear lines" going from their eyes to their mouths are used the to keep the glare from sunlight out of their eyes for better vision. This is similar to athletes using eye black.
An ideal habitat is 10 000 sq with strong prey baase.
Most of the Cheetah's prey are bigger than the cheetah itself. They can go a few days without eating, but most go for one meal a day. After a Cheetah catches a prey, it only gets to eat a little because larger animals like lions will steal the food. This is because they are larger and stronger and can intimidate the cheetah. Also, Cheetah's might try to hide their food so this does not happen.
Major reasons for the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in India
Hunting of blackbuck one the major prey species for Cheetah
Sport hunting
Bounty killings
Loss of habitats
