Cheetah deaths raise questions over India’s reintroduction scheme

Three of the 20 big cats brought from Africa have died as critics of the plan say their new habitat is unsuitable

A programme to reintroduce cheetahs in India after 75 years has been called into question after three of the animals died in recent weeks and concerns were raised that their new habitat was unsuitable.

Since October, 20 cheetahs – which became extinct in the country in 1952 – have been brought over from South Africa and Namibia as part of a much-lauded government programme to house them in Kuno national park, Madhya Pradesh state.