John,

The "cheetah" word is especially confusing to Indians (the Asiatic cheetah is extinct in India though small numbers are believed to exist in parts of Pakistan and Iran) because in Tamil and some other Indian languages, the word for leopard is "siruttai" which sounds like "cheetah" when spoken.

Some states have a major problem with leopards and until recently the only thing that could be done was to either trap and release them or to have military officers who are specially licensed shoot rogue animals. My feeling is that the states have now decided to follow the African example to make money and promote hunting and conservation though it is not going to be easy. India has had PETA members as Cabinet Ministers in the Central (Federal) government and there is vehement opposition to hunting in the country even among target shooting groups.

In any case, I personally hope that sense would prevail. The Indian government needs to know that there is no way that the country's wildlife would be preserved until they work out an economic value for it and protect it and realise returns from it as an investment. Let's see how this goes...

Good hunting!