After reviving dire wolves, scientists now aim to bring back the extinct Indian cheetah, here's how

In a groundbreaking move, scientists are now preparing to bring back the extinct Indian cheetah, just days after successfully reviving dire wolves using ancient DNA. The Indian cheetah, once the fastest land animal in India, was declared extinct in 1952 due to over-hunting and habitat loss.

Currently, most cheetahs in the world live in African countries like South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. In recent years, India has tried to reintroduce African cheetahs, with 26 now living in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, including 14 cubs born in India.

Now, scientists are planning something even more ambitious, reviving the original Indian cheetah using advanced genetic technology. The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow has teamed up with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) for this mission. According to BSIP scientist Niraj Rai, they are in the final stage of completing the whole genome sequencing (WGS) of the extinct Indian cheetah. This process studies the animal's full DNA to understand what made it unique and what may have caused its extinction.

Once the sequencing is complete, scientists will use gene editing to modify the DNA of the African cheetah, giving it traits of the Indian cheetah. The edited embryo will then be placed inside a female African cheetah through surrogacy, similar to how Colossal Biosciences recently created three dire wolf pups.

This scientific project aims to create a cheetah that closely matches the original Indian species. It will also help researchers understand the animal’s history and the factors that led to its disappearance.

The Indian cheetah was once found across the subcontinent but began disappearing by the mid-20th century. The last known three were killed in 1947 by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo in Chhattisgarh. Five years later, the species was officially declared extinct in the country.

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