New Delhi/Gwalior:

Twelve cheetahs from South Africa arrived in Madhya Pradesh as we speak, months after eight large cats had been ferried from Namibia. 

An Air Power plane carrying the cheetahs landed on the Gwalior Air Power base at 10 am. They had been then flown to Kuno Nationwide Park in helicopters.

The cheetahs – seven males and 5 females – shall be launched into their quarantine enclosures at the Kuno Nationwide Park by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Atmosphere Minister Bhupender Yadav.

HC Jaideep Sarkar and others seeing off 12 African Cheetahs being relocated to India, beneath the flagship undertaking between South Africa and India.@ntca_india@moefcc@byadavbjp@MEAIndia@IndianDiplomacypic.twitter.com/8VO0LB2QBb

— India in SouthAfrica (@hci_pretoria) February 18, 2023

10 quarantine enclosures have been created on the reserve for the large cats, officers stated. As per Indian wildlife legal guidelines, the animals are required to be saved in isolation for 30 days after arrival within the nation.

Final yr in September, eight cheetahs from Namibia had been flown in to India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the large cats to the Kuno Nationwide Park on his birthday – September 17.

The eight Namibian cheetahs are actually in a searching enclosure – a six sq. km-area the place they will work together with one another – and can quickly be launched into the wild.

The relocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa comes three years after the thought was mooted by the Centre – the world’s first intercontinental translocation undertaking that goals at reintroducing the large cats within the nation. 

The final cheetah died in India in1947, and the species was declared extinct from the nation in 1952.

Efforts to reintroduce the animals gathered tempo in 2020 when the Supreme Court docket dominated that African cheetahs, a distinct subspecies, may very well be introduced into the nation at a “rigorously chosen location” on an experimental foundation.

In line with the undertaking, round 12-14 large cats that are perfect for establishing a brand new cheetah inhabitants can be imported from South Africa, Namibia and different African international locations as a founder inventory for 5 years initially after which as required by the programme.