Banni Grasslands Reserve and Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, both in Kutch, have been classified by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as the last remaining habitats of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in India and are proposed as some of the possible sites for the reintroduction of the species in India.Banni Grassland possible home for cheetahs; Himanshu Kaushik, TNN, 3 October 2009; Times of IndiaCheetahs on their way to Gujarat? 12 September 2009; Times of India Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that used to occur here are now locally extinct in India and elsewhere, except a very small critically endangered and fragmented population of last few, estimated to be below 100, thought to be surviving only in the central desert of Iran. Thus cheetah experts from around the world have advised India to import and introduce the cheetah from Africa as genetically it is identical to the ones found is Asia, as genetic studies had suggested that the Asian population had separated from the African relatively recently only 5000 years ago which is not enough for a subspecies level differentiation.Workshop on cheetah relocation begins, views differ; PTI, 9 September 2009; The Times of IndiaIndia to get cheetahs from Namibia; by Neha Sinha; 9 July 2009; 2 Page article online; Indian Express NewspaperCheetah re-introduction plan under discussion; IANS; 2009-09-09; Sify News. See also . See also , Experts eye African cheetahs for reintroduction, to submit plan; ICT by IANS; 11 September 2009; THAILAND NEWS; A news portal for Indians in Thailand. See also at sulekha news , Spotted: Lean Cat Rerun – Hunted out from Indian grasslands, the cheetah may tear across the landscape again; by Shruti Ravindran; environment: wildlife; 5 Oct 2009; Outlook India magazineIndia tries cheetah diplomacy on Iran; By James Lamont in New Delhi; 5 August 2009; Financial Times
