There’s some really great news for cheetahs at the moment. That’s cheetahs and not cheaters – I have suddenly gone soft on the Lance Armstrong’s of this world you know. No, of course I am talking about the fantastic news this week that the top court in India has said that cheetahs can be reintroduced to the country – some 70 years since they were wiped out there.
If you didn’t already know cheetahs are my favourite of the big cats. In fact, I would say they are my favourite wild animal. Not that you come across many in rural North Yorkshire – as wild as it can be.
Of course, they are the worlds fastest land animal, so as a runner I have something in common with them. I run, though I am certainly not the fastest.
Admittedly, when I read the news about the Indian Supreme Court’s decision, I didn’t actually realise that cheetahs ever existed there. Moreso, the Asiatic cheetah is in fact a sub-species and there are around 50 of them left in the wild – all of which are in Iran.
The photo at the top is one that I made at Chester Zoo, where you can find a fantastic cheetah enclosure. They work in partnership with groups in Africa that are involved with cheetah conservation programmes. My ambition is to photograph them in the wild one day. Who knows, this might even be in India now!
Clearly, conservationists aren’t going to rock up with a low-loader full of giant cat carriers and let them go. But, hopefully, we shall see a gradual return of this beautiful creature to a land that it once roamed freely.
Thanks for reading.
D
