Cheetahs arrived in India for Modi’s birthday
From Namibia, seven cheetahs—five male and three female—will arrive.
In an ambitious attempt to reintroduce the swift big cats to the nation, eight cheetahs will be brought to India where they will be personally welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday.
Asiatic cheetahs once lived in India, but the country declared the species extinct in 1952. The final three specimens are thought to have been slain by a royal.
However, since the Supreme Court said that African cheetahs, a different subspecies, might be settled in a “well-chosen location” on an experimental basis, New Delhi has been striving to reintroduce the animals.
The three females and five males from Namibia will initially be housed in a quarantine enclosure at the Kuno National Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which is located in the center of India.
Additionally, India intends to import more cheetahs from South Africa in the future.
According to an official from the environment ministry who spoke to AFP, “the prime minister himself will be releasing the animals into the quarantine enclosures.”
The cats will subsequently be relocated to bigger areas before being let loose in the park’s broad woodland when they’ve adjusted.
According to local media sources, the cheetahs will arrive in Jaipur in western India after a 10-hour flight, and they will then take a helicopter to Kuno Park.
The project, according to environment minister Bhupender Yadav, is a component of international efforts to protect the species.
The presence of Modi at the unveiling “will inspire and energize all of us,” he continued.
Leopard fight
Because of its plentiful prey and grasslands, Kuno park was chosen as a residence.
However, some have cautioned that the cheetahs may have trouble adjusting to the environment and may get into trouble with the several leopards already present.
According to Adrian Tordiffe, a project participant and professor of veterinary wildlife at the University of Pretoria, India was pressured by South Africa to use additional parks to assist separate the two species.
According to Tordiffe, “I don’t think it’s going to be a significant problem for the adults… they are highly accustomed to coexisting with other predators.”
“However, there’s a chance that we’ll run into an issue with the survival of the cubs.”
The main causes of the cheetah’s extinction in India were habitat loss and hunting for their recognizable spotted pelts.
It is widely accepted that Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo, an Indian monarch, was responsible for the last three known cheetah deaths in India in the late 1940s.
According to a story in the Indian Express newspaper, the incoming animals have been given health examinations, vaccinations, and radio collars to prepare them for the journey.
Less than 7,000 cheetahs remain in the world, mostly in African savannas, and are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Kuno, MP | Visuals from inside the Kuno National Park where Cheetahs will be re-introduced on September 17.
PM Modi will be present at the Park on the day of the re-introduction. https://t.co/MzywIrARsR pic.twitter.com/brzlqYNvR0
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2022
