Seven decades after their extinction, India releases eight cheetahs into the wild

(Image credit: Screengrab from video tweeted by @OfficeofSSC)

More than seven decades after their extinction, India on Saturday released Cheetahs, the world’s fastest land mammals in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his 72nd birthday, released the 8 Cheetahs—3 male and 5 females into an enclosure that will serve as their quarantine for more than a month.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other officials were also present

The Cheetahs were brought from Namibia in a special cargo flight Boeing -717. After landing in Gwalior, they were flown in a helicopter to Kuno. Around 12 more Cheetahs are expected to arrive later from South Africa later.

“Project Cheetah is our endeavor towards environment and wildlife conservation. The tourists, however, have to wait for a few months to see the cheetahs in Kuno. At the moment they are guests in the region and have to first acclimatize themselves,” Modi said after releasing the Cheetahs.

While wildlife experts have lauded this world’s first inter-continental Cheetah translocation project, some have expressed their apprehensions because of conflicts with other animals like leopards and tigers. The shifting had to be delayed because of the presence of leopards.