In the wake of the historic restoration of dire wolves through the latest cloning and gene-editing technology, researchers are now turning their attention to the Indian cheetah, the country’s one-time fastest land animal.
The species was declared extinct in India in 1952 when it was relentlessly hunted and its habitat destroyed. Today, the majority of the world’s cheetah population lives in Africa, particularly in nations such as South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.
What is the Revival Plan?
Charging ahead with this ambitious endeavor is the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow that has partnered with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). Taking inspiration from Colossal Biosciences’ achievement of creating three dire wolf pups via ancient DNA and cloning technology, BSIP has moved into the last stages of sequencing the whole genome of the Indian cheetah.
We have samples of all dead Indian cheetahs, and we are presently in the last stage of its entire genome sequencing (WGS) that will give a complete picture of the cheetah’s entire DNA, allowing the identification of genetic variations which could have caused disease or elevated disease risk, ultimately resulting in its extinction,” BSIP senior scientist and research lead Niraj Rai said.
The entire genome sequencing would be completed in the next three months, as per Rai. This would be used to differentiate the genetic difference between Indian and African cheetahs. “After that, we would make modifications in the DNA of the African cheetah; this would be done to India-ize it,” he added.
Just like in the case of the dire wolf project, the gene-editing stage will be employed to introduce characteristics unique to the extinct Indian cheetah. The strategy involves placing the edited embryos into African cheetahs for surrogacy.
Are There Any Cheetahs in India Today?
Today, only those cheetahs are left in India which were moved from South Africa and Namibia during 2022 and 2023. In all, 20 cheetahs were introduced into the Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh, and the count has gone up to 26, out of which there are 14 cubs which have been born in India.
Historically, cheetahs were found all over India but disappeared after Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya, Chhattisgarh, is said to have shot the last three Asiatic cheetahs in 1947. The Indian government officially declared them extinct five years later, in 1952.
Apart from relentless hunting, other factors that led to their extinction were diminishing grasslands and a consistent decline in prey species.
