Project Cheetah: Eight new big cats from Botswana set to arrive in India soon

Eight cheetahs have been captured in Botswana in southern Africa ahead of their translocation to India under the cheetah reintroduction programme launched in 2022 after the fastest land animal went extinct here decades ago a senior forest official saidThe cheetahs including two males will be quarantined for a month and undergo a medical examination before being sent to India the official told PTI requesting anonymityIntercontinental translocation involves several formalities Considering these and the upcoming Christmas holidays I cant say when the cheetahs will be flown to Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh most probably in January he addedWhen contacted Cheetah Project field director Uttam Sharma stated that the matter was being handled by the two governments and he could not comment on itWe already have enclosures and facilities ready for the third batch of cheetahs which were prepared when the animals were earlier brought from Namibia and South Africa he addedMeanwhile a fivemember South African delegation visited the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary GSWS located on the boundary of Mandsaur and Neemuch districts in Madhya Pradesh after its field visit to Kuno National Park on ThursdayThe team remained at GSWS on Friday before returning to New Delhi to fly back to South Africa said Mandsaur Divisional Forest Officer Sanjay RaykhereThe team appreciated the efforts of the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments and Kuno management in cheetah conservation under Project Cheetah said field director SharmaThe delegation comprised Anthony Mitchell head of office and cabinet liaison for Deputy Minister Narend Singh Kam Chetty retired bureaucrat Sam Ferreira SANParks lead biologist Brent Coverdale animal scientist at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Jeanetta Selier senior scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute SANBIThey were accompanied by Indian counterparts S P Yadav managing director of the International Big Cat Alliance IBCA and advisor to Project Cheetah Subharanjan Sen principal chief conservator of forests wildlife of Madhya Pradesh and Sanjayan Kumar inspector general NTCA Sharma addedOn September 17 2022 Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia into a special enclosure at Kuno National Park marking the worlds first intercontinental relocation of a large wild carnivore species India later imported 12 more cheetahs from South Africa in February 2023Three years into the ambitious revival programme the country now has 27 cheetahs including 16 born on Indian soil Of them 24 are at Kuno and three are at GSWSNineteen cheetahs nine imported adults and 10 cubs born in Indiahave died from various causes since the project began while 26 cubs have been born in Kuno so far After importing 20 animals from Africa India currently has a net gain of seven cheetahs over the initial numberThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever