Bison in UK to Tiger in India: From extinction to a happy home-coming

New Delhi, Sep 14: India's wait for cheetahs will most likely be over on September 17 when the big cats are flown in from Namibia. The reintroduction of this magnificent cat that went extinct from the country 70 years ago is a meticulous plan which involves numerous steps of planning and execution for the D-day and the days to follow to ensure that the cheetahs have successfully settled. Many countries, including India, have over the years reintroduced endangered and extinct wildlife species back and are now proud habitat for them.

In the case of cheetahs, all the preparations are in place. A 10-square-km enclosure has been readied at their new home, the Kuno Palpur National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The big cats will be brought to India on a chartered cargo flight, which will take off from Windhoek, the capital of Namibia on 16 September. After over a 10-hour journey, the cheetahs will land in Rajasthan's Jaipur on Saturday.

Let us look at some other successful reintroduction plans from around the world that have helped endangered and extinct wildlife species thrive.

Project Tiger

The ambitious Project Tiger has been one of the biggest successes in the conservation efforts in India. India doubled its tiger population in 2018, four years ahead of the target set for 2022. With 2,967 Tigers, India is now home to 70 per cent of the global population.

Similarly, due to focussed conservation efforts, the number of Asiatic Lions in Gujarat's Gir forest and Saurashtra has also surged from 523 to 674.

Here is a list of successful animal re-introduction plans that have helped endangered and extinct wildlife species thrive.

Wild Bison, United Kingdom

Wild bison, which went missing from the United Kingdom for thousands of years, were reintroduced to a forest near Canterbury, England to help restore the species.

The re-introduction of Bison helped restore the biodiversity of the landscape and other species to thrive.

Experts hoped the bison will help turn "a dense commercial pine forest into a vibrant natural woodland.

Vultures, Europe

Vultures faced a steady decline over the 20th century as they disappeared from several European regions. However, the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) launched a similar reintroduction programme in Europe, where the Bearded Vulture was regionally extinct. The species has made a remarkable comeback in the last few decades.

Lynx, Europe

The Eurasian Lynx - a type of wild cat mostly disappeared across almost all of Central Europe for 200 years. The reasons included hunting and habitat loss.

As top predators, Lynx are able to keep other species populations in check, making ecosystems more healthy and sustainable.

After the successful re-introduction, the Lynx population in Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria has increased.

Today, you can find more than 9,000 to 10,000 Eurasian lynx in Europe.

Rat Kangaroo, Australia

A truffle-eating Australian marsupial known as the rat kangaroo had suffered a dramatic population decline and has been re-introduced after disappearing more than 100 years ago.

The Kangaroo rats are native to arid areas of western North America, but were "almost extinct when cats and foxes were introduced by Europeans.

Ferrets, US

The black-footed ferret was once considered the rarest mammal in the world officially wiped out in some parts of the US in 1967.

A total of 18 black-footed ferrets were thought to be left in the world by 1987. Later, the authorities put the animals into a captive breeding programme and ferrets started to be re-introduced into US national parks in 1994 and 2007.

After the successful re-introduction plan, about 1,000 black-footed ferrets now live in the wild.

Red kites, United Kingdom

The reintroduction of red kites to the UK is considered one of the greatest conservation success stories of the 20th century.

In 1992, during a four-year reintroduction project, Red kites started breeding in the Chilterns, one of the 38 protected 'areas of natural beauty' in England and Wales.

Today you can see at least 1,000 breeding pairs in the region. The animal can also be found in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Wild horses, China

Przewalski's horse, an endangered wild horse species became extinct because of "excessive poaching and environmental degradation."

China started reintroducing Przewalski's horses from the UK, the US and Germany in 1985, and has since bred more than 800 wild horses across six generations.

Siberian Tigers, Kazakhstan

In 2021, Kazakhstan and Russia pledged their commitment to boost their efforts in reviving the population of wild tigers that once roamed the the country. Introduction projects for Siberian tigers have been proposed for the Middle East, Central Asia and North Asia.

Siberian tigers used to be common on either side of the Amur River in Russia and China, as well as in northeastern Mongolia and South Korea. They reportedly became extinct in the 1970s after many years of hunting, poaching and habitat loss. Siberian tigers lost most of their ranges in Siberia and China and became extinct in the wild of Korea and Mongolia.