[#History] [#Nature] How the Royalty Killed the Cheetah

Do you know that Cheetah is extinct in India? Once upon a time cheetahs roamed freely in Indian forests, but were caught and tamed by Indian royalties to be used in hunting expeditions in so large numbers that not a single cheetah remained now. 

The last sighted cheetah in India was one sighted in Koriya district, MP (now Chhattisgarh) in 1951.

The name "cheetah" is derived from the Hindi word चीता (cītā), which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word चित्रकायः (citrakāyaḥ) meaning "bright" or "variegated".

The book "Wild Cats of the World" by Mel Sunquist & Fiona Sunquist mentions about history of human persecution of cheetahs:

A Mesopotamian seal dating from the 3rd millennium BC depicts a cheetah-like cat on a leash, and tame cheetahs were enshrined on many Egyptian tombs and rock temples. The pharaohs believed that the cheetah, as the fastest animal on land, would carry their spirits away after death. Some of the earliest images of training and using cheetahs for hunting come from the 17th and 18th dynasties in Egypt. Later the cats were widely used in the Middle East, Afghanistan, southern Russia, Pakistan, India and China. Tame cheetahs were used to hunt goitered gazelles, foxes, and hares in Russia and Mongolia, and the sport flourished during the middle ages in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. In 1474 one Armenian ruler owned 100 hunting cheetahs. In 1555, Akbar was presented with a cheetah named Fatehbaz and thus was first Indian potentate introduced to the hunting with cheetahs. Akbar later devised a new method of capture and training for the cat, and at one time his menagerie held a thousand cheetahs. During his lifetime Akbar reportedly collected over 9000 cheetahs, using them for hunting gazelles and blackbuck.

Painting: The Presentation of a cheetah to Akbar 

Painting: Akbar hunting with cheetah

In Europe, the nobility have been hunting with tame cheetahs for nearly a thousand years. In November 1231, Fredrick III went to Raenna, Italy with an entourage of bodyguards, astrologers, huntsmen and falcons. The court was accompanied by a menagerie that included elephants, camels, cheetahs and falcons. By 14^th and 15^th centuries, the sport of coursing with cheetah had become extremely popular in Italy, France and England. Wealthy landowners and royalty spent large sums of money to acquire and keep these elegant hunting cats which were used to run down hares and roe deer. Cheetah was not native to Europe but was imported from Africa.

A Parisian woman and her Cheetah, 1932 

Coming back to India, even the British officers in India found pleasure in using cheetah for their hunting campaigns. The sport was so well known throughout India that during the British Raj Asiatic cheetahs were known as "hunting-leopards". There are large number of paintings and photographs from that era which show cheetahs in pitiful state.

Cheetah on cart, used for hunting in British India

For taming, adult cheetahs were preferred since they had already perfected their hunting skills in the jungle; as against small cheetahs which were difficult to be taught hunting. Once cheetahs were tamed, they did not breed and hence their population declined severely. There is only one case of a baby cheetah born in captivity, otherwise none of the tamed cheetahs produced any kids.

Cheetahs as hunting assistants during British Raj in India 

Tiger Hunt by Lord Reading, Viceroy of India

The last three Cheetahs killed in India ended with end of the Brtish Raj.

There are about 10000 cheetahs left in the world, majorly in Africa. For Asiatic Cheetah, it is believed that only about 100 such cheetahs remain only in Iran, roaming in the central deserts.

- Rahul Tiwary