[#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

The Little Goat and A Little Girl

I want to tell you a story - or some little stories woven into one.

Our locality has a few shops selling meat. One goat is always tied to a tree trunk near the shop - perhaps it serves as 'safety stock'. One day a little girl was passing by - holding her grandmother by one finger. I could see that she had turned back and was making gestures with her other hand at the goat - as if trying to entertain it and gain its attention. She also spoke some cute words to the goat. The goat just stared at her.

Then outside a nearby chicken shop, that day only one white hen was seen in the cage. Perhaps the shop was soon to witness a stock-out situation - blame poor forecasting. Now a red cock was seen wandering on the ground. Perhaps it was a pet of someone and hence free. This big red cock looked at the solitary white hen in the cage - a damsel in distress - and made some sounds. The hen actually responded looking at the cock and spoke a few words. I think my heart skipped a few beats at the sight.

What to speak of dogs. With roads getting wider day by day and some dogs not learning how to cross roads safely - especially the newly recruited pups which popup in bunches some fine day - the situation is alarming. The only good thing is that perhaps the municipality is cleaning the roads soon enough for us. Or who knows, may be the fast vehicles do all the surface cleaning.

I had written about the fat cat in our neighborhood before - if you remember. A neighbor decided to steal one of her kittens to be raised as a pet and she religiously went to his house every evening and cried aloud. I can only update that this ritual went on for not less than a month after which either she got her baby back or else made some new ones to cope up with the situation.

On the way to morning walk, I find an unfamiliar noise coming out of a house whose doors and windows were still sleeping. Almost certain, it was a parrot making squeaky noises. Was it trying to wake up its owners? Oh, how I forget - it was responding to the call of nature. While we may find mornings lazy and uninvited, especially on working days of the week - birds find every morning worth celebrating. That parrot was acting like a bird - which I had to take time to come into terms with. So human like.

I think with cities growing high and wide, our earth is increasingly becoming unnatural for living beings which God designed to remain free and happy always. I don't count humans with these free-and-happy beings because I think we are too human to be these.

- Rahul [Views expressed are personal]

Animal Lovers

I remember my first poem which was published in our school magazine. I had got a request for a poem and when I looked around for some inspiration, I thought about my neighbor’s dog. They had picked a cute puppy from the roadside and made it their pet. The pup became a hit in the neighborhood. But after some months, it was bitten by a diseased dog and became infected. They tried to get it treated but failed. So they took the pup to a faraway place and left it there. I wrote a touching poem in Hindi, telling about the pup’s plight…

I recall this episode today because this morning, I saw another dog on the road. It still wore a leather belt in its neck – telling about its once-privileged status. It suffered from some skin disease which had ruined its white fur. The dog had no friends and it wandered here and there. Once in a while when it saw a man approaching, as if in an expectation it waged its tail lovingly. But it got contempt in return. Even the roadside tea vendor ridiculed it – he called it by making signs to offer biscuits and when it came nearby, he threatened it and chased it away. I tried to escape from the sad scene, avoiding its eyes – but that wasn’t to happen. The dog looked at me as if searching for its old loving master.

Imagine, such pets would find it horrible to settle down in their new life because they weren’t born or raised in those conditions which make street-dogs accustomed to them.

Such abandoned pets are living examples of this life’s uncertainty. For a part of their life, they were pampered more than like family members. And now, they are rejected and hated by everyone.

I wonder – even after all this, there are terms like “Animal Lovers”. What lovers would throw their love on their streets when sick and vulnerable?

- Rahul