Status, habitat use, and resource partitioning of the meso-carnivore community in light of cheetah reintroduction in India.

The Asiatic cheetah population of India went extinct mainly due to poaching and spread of domestication in colonial India. Dry grasslands and open forests that make up their habitat are further under-represented in the national network of protected areas. Throughout south-east Asia, grassland habitats have seen the most drastic change, jeopardizing cheetah habitat. Our proposed large carnivore reintroduction not only aims to re-establish the historical cheetah range but also will generate a top-down order of trophic cascade to the lower taxa. Dovetailing with the cheetah reintroduction project, I am currently formulating my major research questions on interactions of meso-carnivore guild, prey and habitat preference, change in vigilance behaviour upon reintroduction and, most importantly, lessons that can be learnt and applied elsewhere from this large carnivore reintroduction.