Leopards are going to come to India once again. But not from Namibia, but from other countries. It is believed that this time the government can get leopards from Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania or Sudan instead of Namibia.
Two years ago, eight cheetahs came to India from Namibia. These cheetahs have been kept in Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh. Three of these cheetahs have died. The reason for their death is believed to be weather and climate. Actually, when it is summer in India, it is winter in South Africa and Namibia. These cheetahs were used to this. That is why when it was summer in India, the cheetahs made winter coats. Cheetahs make a coat to protect themselves from the cold. Due to the heat in India, these cheetahs developed wounds under their coats and they died due to infection.
More than seven decades have passed since the extinction of cheetahs in India. But there was a time when the population of cheetahs, lions and tigers was very high in India. Now cheetahs have become extinct, the number of lions is also around 700. The population of tigers is also just over three and a half thousand. Tigers would also have been extinct if former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had not banned hunting.
It is believed that hunting of wild animals became common in India when the British came to India. After the arrival of the British, hunting became a ‘royal game’ for the nobles and influential people. The British also brought guns and pistols with them, which made hunting easier.
Royal families, Britishers and nobles were very fond of hunting cheetahs, lions and tigers. This hobby of theirs brought these mute creatures to the brink of extinction.
Historians Ronald Tilson and Philip J. Naess, in their book ‘Tigers of the World: The Science, Politics and Conservation of Panthera tigris’, estimate that between 1875 and 1925, more than 80,000 tigers were hunted in India.
Hunting the last three cheetahs
There was a time when there was a good population of cheetahs in India. But the kings and emperors started hunting them. Apart from this, they were also hunted for the business of cheetah skins. Not only this, during the British India era, cheetahs used to enter the villages, due to which people used to kill them. Due to all these reasons, their population kept decreasing in India.
According to a BBC report, the practice of rearing cheetahs started in India for the first time in the world. In the 16th century, Mughal ruler Jahangir started rearing cheetahs and keeping them in captivity. Even during Akbar’s time, more than 10,000 cheetahs were reared. Out of these, about 1,000 cheetahs were in his court.
In the 20th century, animals started being imported for sport as well. According to a research, between 1799 and 1968, there were at least 230 leopards in the forests of India.
The last time a cheetah was seen in India was in 1948. In 1948, Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Dev of Surguja hunted three cheetahs. These were the last cheetahs in India. In 1952, India declared the cheetahs extinct.
Foreigners used to come to India for hunting
Even after independence, hunting was not banned in India for 25 years. It is believed that every year thousands of foreigners used to come to India just for hunting. There were even proper travel companies that used to provide packages just for hunting.
In January 1961, Queen Elizabeth of Britain came to India. Then she was the guest of the Jaipur royal family. At that time she and her husband Prince Philip hunted a tiger in Ranthambore. It is said that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was also very angry at the tiger hunting. Her visit was opposed in Britain and there were protests against tiger hunting.
Leopards had already become extinct and due to hunting the population of lions and tigers had also started decreasing. This was the time when the existence of tigers in the world was in danger. But even at that time 70% of the world’s tigers were in India.
And then Indira Gandhi made a law
Tiger hunting was a hobby for the rich and a business for the poor and smugglers. The rich used to hunt tigers for their hobby. Whereas, smugglers used to sell its skin, nails and teeth in the markets. Due to this, the population of tigers started decreasing rapidly.
When the tiger population was counted in 1970, it was found that only 1800 tigers were left in the country. Whereas, in the beginning of the 20th century, their population was more than 40 thousand.
At the same time, a tigress gave birth to two tiger cubs in Ranthambore, Rajasthan. But the tigress died a few days later. It is said that then Indian Forest Service officer Kailash Sankhla took those two cubs in a basket to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was very sad to know about the death of the tigress.
Kailash Sankhla told Indira Gandhi that tigers need to be saved. After this, the Wild Life Protection Act was implemented in 1972. This law completely banned hunting of wild animals. This decision of Indira Gandhi was also opposed.
A year after the implementation of this law, Indira Gandhi started ‘Project Tiger’. Its purpose was to save tigers. Kailash Sankhla was made the director of this project. Not only this, to increase awareness about tigers, it was also declared the ‘national animal’. Till now the national animal of India was the lion.
Under Project Tiger, nine national parks were put under special protection at that time. The result was that by 1984 the number of tigers doubled. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, the National Geographic magazine wrote that ‘tigers have lost their chief protector’.
What is the punishment for hunting?
Hunting has been legally prohibited in India since 1972. Not only hunting, but killing animals and trading their skins, nails or teeth is also illegal. Apart from tigers, many other wild animals and birds are also included in this law.
Under the Wild Life Protection Act, hunting or killing a wild animal is punishable with a jail term of 3 to 7 years. Along with this, a fine of Rs 25,000 is also imposed.