I recently became aware of a published proposal to reintroduce African cheetahs in India by US scientists.
Apart from scientific considerations - I have much to disagree on this proposal - my question is: should it be proposed if the last Asiatic cheetahs lived in Israel or Jordan rather than in Iran, as it is the case? I believe that global organizations should try to support local and national conservation initiatives, not totally disvalue work in Iran that is really critical for the conservation of Asiatic cheetah.
Article Conservation Genetics of the Cheetah: Lessons Learned and Ne...
I read the article. I agree with the authors particularly knowing that both African and Asian cheetahs are descend from the population of bottleneck about 12,000 years ago (according the authors' views).
Dear El-Sayed, I do not wish to enter in details with the technical aspects of the proposal. For istance, in no case cheetahs from South Africa should be used for re-introduction in India as they belong to the more far away population, and this is against IUCN guidelines for reintroduction. In the paper there is reference to poor health of Iranian cheetahs without source for this. It is my personal opinion that we should help Iranian authorities to protect their unique cheetahs that hunts mountain sheeps and goats. My question was about 'scientific' projects that may hinder conservation plans in countries we do not like
Dear El-Sayed, I do not wish to enter in details with the technical aspects of the proposal. For istance, in no case cheetahs from South Africa should be used for re-introduction in India as they belong to the more far away population, and this is against IUCN guidelines for reintroduction. In the paper there is reference to poor health of Iranian cheetahs without source for this. It is my personal opinion that we should help Iranian authorities to protect their unique cheetahs that hunts mountain sheeps and goats. My question was about 'scientific' projects that may hinder conservation plans in countries we do not like.
Dear Gippoliti, I agree with you regarding 'scientific' projects that may hinder conservation plans in countries we do not like and that global organizations should try to support local and national conservation initiatives. I also agree with you about noble intention of helping Iranian authorities protect their unique cheetahs that hunts mountain sheeps and goats. But, I would like to test other hypotheses regarding India. The idea here is that hypotheses (scientific or not) need to be verified. And I want to see the validity of this particular hypothesis. I think there will be no harm to cheetahs in Iran.
Obviously all parties should be happy to have cheetahs back in India again. However, on the technical side, I think that local projects should always have a broader perspective. Too many species reintroductions of the past are now considered a serious threat to native biodiversity - I can cite the roe deer Capreolus capreolus in Italy - now that the surviving Italian roe deer population is confirmed as genetically distinct.
It seems to me geopolitical influences will be inevitable in the test of time. Not to say that absolute toleration is acceptable. In the case of the African cheetahs, there would need to be closer considerations as new specied can impact the ecosystem, however small its number.
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