12 more cheetahs from S Africa find home in Kuno Park; count 20

New Delhi, February 18

In a major boost to the country’s ambitious Project Cheetah, 12 wild cats were released into quarantine enclosures at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.

Project Cheetah

• 2-8 age group of spotted felines
• 7 are male, five female
• 3 of them born in June 2020
• 8-10 years average life span

With their arrival, the number of these wild cats has gone up to 20. These South African big cats will be kept in the quarantine enclosures for at least a month before they are moved into acclimatisation bomas.

• An IAF transport aircraft with 12 cheetahs from South Africa landed in Gwalior on Saturday
• From there, the felines transported to Kuno National Park, 165 km away, in IAF copters
• Eight cheetahs kept in separate quarantine enclosures at KNP, four in two bomas in pairs

A consultative workshop involving international cheetah experts, scientists, veterinarians and forest officials will be held on February 20 at the national park.

Last year, eight cheetahs were translocated from Namibia. Officials said the eight cheetahs were now in a hunting enclosure where they could interact with each other, and would soon be released into the wild.

The relocation of 12 cheetahs from South Africa comes three years after the idea was mooted by the Centre, making it the world’s first intercontinental translocation project that aims at reintroducing the big cats in the country.

The 12 cats, five of them females, were flown from South Africa on Saturday morning on IAF’s C-17 Globemaster that landed at the air force station, Gwalior. The helicopters took the cheetahs from the station to their new home.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, “Project Cheetah reached another milestone today. India has shown the world how to move from ecological wrong to ecological harmony.”

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “This is a historic day. Twelve cheetahs were released into the Kuno National Park. Now, we have 20 cheetahs at the park.” Chouhan further said it would boost the tourism sector also. Former Union environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had initiated ‘Project Cheetah’ in 2009 under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to reintroduce them in India.