An Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft carrying 12 cheetahs arrived in Madhya Pradesh from South Africa at 10 am Saturday. The cheetahs were flown to Gwalior this morning, from where they will be taken to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district around 12 noon.
The cheetahs will be released in KNP by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The second set of cats reintroduced in India comprise seven male and five female. The first set of eight from Namibia were released on September 17 last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After being released, the cheetahs will be put into quarantine bomas (enclosures) after half an hour (around 12.30 pm), an expert said.
KNP director Uttam Sharma said they have arranged 10 quarantine bomas for South African cheetahs. Two pairs of cheetahs would be kept in two of these facilities, he said, adding, “We have completed our preparations to receive the big cats.”.
India’s last cheetah died in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the species was declared extinct in 1952. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and South Africa last year for the translocation of the mammals which is part of the Indian government’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme.