African cheetahs brought to India as part of the world’s first intercontinental translocation of big cats will soon roam free again in the wild, nearly a year after they were returned to enclosures in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park for health check-ups and monitoring, according to officials.

Officials told the media that the Centre’s Cheetah Project Steering Committee decided on Friday to release the African cheetahs and their cubs, born in India, into the wild in a phased manner after the monsoon withdraws from central parts of the country.