Earlier, the Central Zoo Authority was also considering getting zoo-bred cheetahs and releasing their third generation in Indian forests.

Scientists are of the view that nothing should be done without genetic and feasibility studies. "We are talking about a different sub-species. We need to do feasibility studies and make sure it can survive here. Further, we have to ask, why we want to get cheetahs here. This is a dry scrub species. In India, the other dry scrub species, the lions, has already shrunk to a tiny stronghold in Gujarat and tigers are also losing out. We need to be firm that we can protect all animals before any attempts at re-population," said a scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India, which has carried out tiger translocations in India.

The last two Indian Cheetahs were sighted in 1967-68 in Chattisgarh.