Goa, June 15 -- India's ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme-Project Cheetah-has been under constant scrutiny, but leading scientists from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Project Tiger, and the National Zoological Park, Delhi, have come out strongly in its defence. In a peer-reviewed article published in Frontiers journal, they argue that much of the criticism is shaped more by ideological bias and media sensationalism than by scientific reasoning.

According to the researchers, early data from Kuno National Park-the primary site for reintroduction-indicates that the translocated cheetahs are adapting well to Indian ecosystems. Tracking data from radio collars reveal that free-ranging cheetahs are hunting a wide ar...