The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has submitted an application stating that it would be detrimental to the survival of both species, lions and cheetahs, to introduce lions in the same area as cheetahs. On March 25, the NTCA's legal team distributed the application to the other respondents. The SC expert committee had moved an application seeking to guide and direct the NTCA on cheetah translocation. However, the Supreme Court did not wish to interfere in the matter and stated that the NTCA was an expert body concerned with the conservation of tigers in India.
The apex court had set up a three-member committee in January 2020 to guide NTCA in taking a decision on the issue of translocation of cheetahs. The court had also removed a stay on the translocation of cheetahs in Kuno, which had been in place since 2012. The stay was on account of Kuno being considered a second home for the lions of Gir. The experts had recommended the relocation of the lions because Gir was becoming crowded, and there was a risk of a disease decimating the entire population.
The NTCA's application states that it is not appropriate to introduce another larger carnivore, the lion, in the same area as cheetahs immediately as this would be detrimental to the survival of both species due to interspecies competition. Although it is known that cheetahs and lions coexist in some African countries, it is important to take into account that competitively subordinate and vulnerable carnivores, like cheetahs, should be released before the dominating species, like lions. Due to conservation efforts made by the Center and the Gujarat government, the lion population has increased by 29 per cent during the past five years.
Project Lion's major objective is to maintain a healthy population of Asiatic lions. This objective might be accomplished by the Gir Protected Area population and natural migration into new surroundings, such as Barda Wildlife Sanctuary. HT reported on March 15 that plans had been made to turn Barda into a second home for the lions. The union environment ministry and NTCA have made the decision to have an expert review every aspect of the translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir to Kuno.
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