Animals on the move

Sunita Biswas

Amidst wide publicity, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia to India in September 2022. Special arrangements were made for their transportation to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh where they are currently being kept. The Asiatic cheetah once roamed free in central India but was officially declared extinct in 1952, the only large mammal so far to face such a fate in independent India. Even as the government hailed this as a positive initiative for the ecosystem and as the big cats will soon be released into the open at the national park, concerns have been raised about whether the new environment will be conducive or hostile for the survival of the African sub-species in India.

This recent piece of news can become an unusual and interesting springboard for an immersive, cross-disciplinary project in middle school. Project Cheetah, as the entire transportation exercise was called, has varied aspects to it, all of which can be used in different ways in the classroom to further learning. The adolescent in the middle school has a natural curiosity and fascination for animals which can be channeled into connections with different, yet relatable, subject areas for a more holistic understanding of an otherwise momentous movement of wildlife between two continents.

One can begin with a biology lesson identifying the species. While it is true that the cheetah is a part of the larger cat family, Felidae, it is perhaps common to lump it with the other big cats, that is lions, tigers, jaguars, and leopards that belong to the genus Panthera. However, the cheetah is the only remaining species of the genus Acinonyx. Once this classification is clear one can move on to the distinguishing differences between a leopard and a cheetah since, at first glance, the two may appear to look alike. A cheetah has clear black spots all over its body and a leopard has irregular, rose-shaped spots called rosettes on its body. Also, cheetahs have black, tear-like streaks that run from the corner of their eyes all the way down to their cheeks. Moreover, leopards are only half as fast as the cheetah which, as is well known, is the fastest mammal on earth. Built as they are for speed, cheetahs are also sleeker than the larger and more muscular leopards.

Delving a little more into classification, there are five sub-species of the cheetah of which four are of African origin, the fifth being the Asiatic cheetah. With a current population of less than 40, to be found in Iran today, the Asiatic cheetah is currently on the critically endangered animals list. A mapping exercise in the geography class would help students develop an idea of the countries where the animals are to be found today like Kenya, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, and Iran. At this point a brief introduction to Pangaea, and the process of the formation of the continents, might arouse interest. It could be pointed out here that the cheetah is a distant relative of the puma, and, in fact, made its way to the African grasslands from North America a million years ago, from where they migrated to south Africa and west Asia which explains their predominance in those areas.

Lingering in the geography classroom, and moving on to a study of the cheetah’s habitat, because of their great speed of movement, they prefer to live in wide open spaces and are therefore to be found in the sub-Saharan savannah where they can hunt their prey lightning fast, helped by their excellent sense of sight. The cheetah is hard to see because its spotted coat blends with the tall, dry grass of the plains. However, the cheetah can also survive in various other habitats like deserts, lightly wooded and mountainous areas. They are carnivores and typically prey on wild antelopes, gazelles, impalas, hares, and rabbits. An interesting fact in this context is that cheetahs never return to a kill and only eat fresh meat, they also never scavenge, so if they cannot capture and kill their own prey because they are sick or injured, they will starve to death. All this can be compiled into an absorbing fact-file on the natural surroundings and lifestyle of the cheetah.

There are several books for younger children with stories about cheetahs, including an enchanting and well-known Panchatantra fable, The Lion and the Cheetah. While a middle schooler’s reading skills may perhaps be more advanced, these stories are vibrant and attractive, and offer many interesting details about cheetahs. After going through a few, students could try their hand at some creative writing and come up with their own cheetah stories (or poems), which would be an excellent process of learning for them. Watching documentaries (especially on National Geographic) would be a great way to collect more information.

At this point, it might be necessary to direct the students’ attention to the dwindling numbers of the cheetah population worldwide. Once found throughout Asia and Africa, cheetahs today are racing dangerously close toward extinction. The reasons why they are an endangered species today need to be explored. Loss of habitat and declining numbers of their prey combine to threaten the future of these big cats. Issues of climate change and habitat destruction, combined with poaching by humans, need to be discussed in the context of their impact on the survival rate of the majestic creature. The cheetahs’ own genes also pose a challenge to their continued survival.

From here, moving to the history classroom, students can travel back in time when cheetahs were plentiful in India. Experts say the word “cheetah” originates from the Sanskrit word “chitraka”, meaning “the spotted one”. In Bhopal and Gandhinagar, cave paintings dating back to the Neolithic age depict the cheetah. The Mughal emperor Akbar, it is said, himself owned a thousand cheetahs which were used for hunting blackbucks and gazelles. Records even document a white cheetah with blue spots during the reign of Jahangir. In those times the animal was found in the entire country, barring the high mountains, coastal areas and the northeast. During the British rule in India, it was called the hunting leopard, a name derived from the ones that were kept in captivity in large numbers by Indian royalty to use for hunting wild antelopes. Cheetah coursing or the pursuit of game by a trained cheetah was common among the Indian royalty. By the beginning of the 20^th century, thanks to extensive hunting, the Indian cheetah population had dipped to a few hundreds and the Indian maharajas and princes began to import African animals for coursing – around 200 were imported between 1918 and 1945. Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Korea, Madhya Pradesh is believed to have killed the last three cheetahs in the country in 1947. In 1952, the Indian government officially declared the cheetah extinct in the country.

And now the cheetah is back. The entire logistics of transportation of the eight animals from Namibia to Madhya Pradesh could become a detailed and interesting study in the general knowledge and current affairs classroom. The world’s first intercontinental translocation of a carnivore was definitely a meticulously planned exercise, involving the efforts of many in both countries. From the Supreme Court clearance on an “experimental basis” to negotiations orchestrated by the Union Ministry of Environment and Climate Change involving complex logistics, a lot of ground had to be covered, and not just in miles. The aircraft in which the big cats travelled required special modifications to the cabin to allow cages to be put in place. A B747 Jumbo jet, with the nose section painted with the face of a wild feline, was used to ferry the cheetahs from Namibia. The special chartered cargo flight, with five females and three males on board, took off from Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek and landed at the Indian Air Force Station in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. From there they were taken by helicopter to the Kuno National Park where dedicated enclosures with savannah shrubs and grasses had been made to make the habitat suitable for the just-arrived cheetahs. The cats were kept in a “soft-release enclosure” for acclimatization purposes before they were ready to be released into the wild. Latest news has reported the quarantined period is gradually ending and two cheetahs that have been released from the protected enclosures have already made their first kills. This signals that perhaps the cheetahs are already adapting to their new environment.

In the context of conflicting opinions being voiced about the whole endeavour, and as an extended activity, a debate or group discussion could be organized with older students. This could focus on whether the Indian government’s aim, of developing the cheetah population to help in the global conservation of the animal and revive the grasslands-forests habitat, will indeed be realized, or whether this will end up as a ‘vanity project’, as described by some, which will actually become a threat for the forest communities in the area. Examples of other nations that have successfully reintroduced animals in the past, such as the wild bison, the lynx, red kites and more could be looked at.

Moving a little away from the cheetah, as a follow-up activity students can research about other species that are not native to India but have been introduced to the subcontinent, over the centuries, so much so that today it may come as a surprise that they were not always a part of the indigenous fauna. Camels, horses, donkeys and even chickens were brought at different times by various groups of people. Cattle originally came to India from Central Asia. At the same time, a flourishing export trade in animals existed between India and Africa and Europe even as far back as 2000 years ago. This could become an interesting activity for extended research and discussion.

The project would perhaps not be complete without a mention of the “exotics”. A data base created in 2020 recorded 32,000 private individuals in India who have voluntarily disclosed owning a menagerie of exotic animals! The pets ranged from critically endangered species like the black-and-white ruffed lemur from Madagascar and beisa (an East African antelope) to bearded dragons, pythons, marmosets and much more. And their owners range from royalty and nobility, celebrities, and commoners in two-bedroom apartments. And not just in India – this is a global phenomenon which makes for a fascinating study. Mike Tyson, it is said,once owned three Royal Bengal tigers! And the Ambanis are building a 280-acre zoo and animal rescue centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where komodo dragons and African lions will be the highlights! The movement of these animals from their place of origin, their domestication in often stressful, and sometimes inhumane, conditions outside their natural habitats, the legal aspects of their ownership and treatment are some areas that could be researched and presented as a wrap up activity.

Thus, a very different and diverse project could emerge out of this decision by the Indian government to reintroduce the cheetah. Through this project the students would understand the various factors and facets of this initiative specifically, as well as the larger issues of bio-diversity and ecological balance and conservation.

The author is a Fulbright scholar and has been teaching at various levels in different curricula for over 30 years. She currently teaches History in the middle and high school at Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata. She can be reached at sunceebee@gmail.com.