India is set to welcome eight cheetahs from Namibia to a national park this weekend as part of an ambitious programme to reintroduce the animals into the wild 70 years after they were declared extinct in the country.
The five females and three males, ranging in age from about 2-6 years, are being transferred from Otjiwarongo in Namibia to the sprawling Kuno National Park in India's central Madhya Pradesh state.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to release the cheetahs into a safe enclosure on Saturday, the day he celebrates his 72nd birthday.
Few cheetahs in Asia
The cheetah is a large cat native to Africa and Asia. However, numbers of the Asian species have dwindled, with only a handful now found in Iran.
They are known for being the fastest animal on land, able to reach speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour.
Cheetahs are impressive, athletic creatures with a sleek frame, long legs, unique teardrop markings on the their faces and tiny black spots on their coats of golden yellow to pale orange.
The carnivores are also known for making a range of sounds including chirping, coughing, purring and hissing.
Hunted to extinction
Cheetahs face extinction pressure from climate change, hunting and a low reproduction rate, and are considered vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list of threatened species.
There are only 7,000 cheetahs in the wild, mostly distributed in the grasslands of southern Africa.
Asiatic cheetahs, considered critically endangered, once roamed in the wild in India before decades of hunting and habitat loss led to their extinction. Now, fewer than 70 remain in a remote, arid region in Iran.
It is believed India had more than 10,000 cheetahs during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar in the 15th century, about one-tenth of which were kept at his court for hunting other animals.
Their population had dwindled by the 1900s following bounty hunting by colonial British rulers and erstwhile Indian kings. The last three cats were hunted down in 1947 by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo, a king in central India’s Koriya region.
The Indian government declared cheetahs extinct in 1952.
50 cheetahs in five years
The Indian government and conservationists have tried to revive the cheetah population for decades. Attempts to bring in cheetahs from Iran were turned down by Tehran, which cited the depletion of its own population of the wild cats.
In 2018, however, the government received the Supreme Court's go-ahead to introduce cheetahs from other continents after appealing against its decision to term the African species “foreign”.
After the court’s approval, the National Tiger Conservation Authority started efforts to bring cheetahs from Africa.
Following years of negotiations, New Delhi signed an agreement with Namibia in July to relocate 50 young cheetahs to India over the next five years.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund, a Namibia-based organisation, is assisting with their transfer.
More cheetahs are scheduled to arrive from South Africa as well in coming months.
“We have lost the cheetah, it is the only species after independence which we have lost and we want it back,” Dr M K Ranjitsihn, the point person for the India’s cheetah project, told The National.
“With cheetahs we want to bring back a focus on habitat and ecosystem and landscape restoration and save diverse parts of the biodiversity,” he said.
8,000km journey
The Namibian cheetahs will travel a distance of more than 8,000km in about 20 hours in a specially modified aircraft owned by a Sharjah-based company.
The aircraft travelled from the UAE to Namibia’s capital Windhoek on Friday to pick up the wild cats.
Accompanied by a team from CCF, they will arrive in India's western city of Jaipur before being flown in helicopters to Kuno National Park on Saturday.
Gradual adaptation
CCF said the cheetahs were selected based on their health, disposition, hunting skills and ability to contribute genetics that will result in a strong founder population.
They will be fitted with satellite collars and remain in a fenced holding area as they adapt to their new environment while scientists track their movements and monitor their health. They will then be released
They will be released into a larger enclosure to become familiar with their new environment where they would remain for a month or more before being released into the wild.
Officials will monitor each animal and bring them back into the park if they stray too close to human habitation.
As cheetahs are very adaptable and had a wide distribution until a century ago, they will be able to survive most of the climate conditions in India, the CCF said.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
