India’s long-cherished dream to introduce the big cat is mired in more questions than answers.
The world’s fastest land animal will bolt across the grasslands of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, its muscular, rudderlike tail propelling its lithe body as the cat cuts through air with 22-foot-long strides. The blackbuck, chinkara and hares destined to become its lunch will never know what hit them: one, because it will be over in three seconds, which is all the carnivore needs to go from 0 to 100 km/hr, just like a Formula E race car; and two, because the hunter on their tail is a stranger. You see, the prey in these parts are familiar with local predators—tigers, …
Roshni is a features writer and former editor of The Morning Context's Chaos team. Her career spans The Ken, Reuters, the Hindustan Times and DNA. She is a recipient of the UNFPA Laadli award and was shortlisted for the RedInk Awards 2016 for her story on Mumbai’s leprosy colonies. Her far-flung ideas would sometimes drive our editor-in-chief Ashish up the wall, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way (even if he didn’t admit it).
roshni@mailtmc.com