Cheetah Project: 12 foreign guests will come to India again after 5 months, such special preparations are being made

In September last year, 8 cheetahs were brought to India from Namibia, in the same order now 12 more cheetahs are being brought from South Africa to increase their number again.

Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said on Thursday that 12 cheetahs from South Africa would be brought to the country on February 18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs, including five female and three male cheetahs from Namibia, in an enclosure in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on the occasion of his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year, as part of an ambitious cheetah rehabilitation programme . .

Officials said that at present these eight cheetahs in Kuno are hunting in three to four days and their health is fine. He said that one female leopard was not in good health as her creatinine level had increased but after treatment, her condition is now fine. The level of creatinine in the serum helps to determine the health and function of the kidneys.

The minister told a press conference here, 'A C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) left on Thursday morning to bring these cheetahs from South Africa. To keep these cheetahs in separate habitat, 10 separate enclosures have been made in Kuno National Park. India and South Africa had signed a memorandum of understanding in January to bring cheetahs from the African country and resettle them in Kuno.

Most of the world's 7,000 cheetahs live in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Namibia has the largest population of cheetahs. Cheetah is the only carnivore that has become completely extinct in India mainly due to excessive hunting and lack of habitat. The last cheetah in India was found dead in 1948 in the Sal forest of Koraiya district of Chhattisgarh.

National Tiger Conservation Authority chief S. P. Yadav said, 'Seven male and five female cheetahs in Gauteng, South Africa. R. Will leave from Tambo International Airport on Friday to visit Kuno. He said, 'These cheetahs will reach the Gwalior Air Force Base in Madhya Pradesh at 10 am on Saturday and after that they will be taken by the Mi-17 helicopter of the Air Force.'

Yadav said that in South Africa, three cheetahs have been kept in the Phinda isolated habitat boma in KwaZulu-Natal province and nine cheetahs in the Roiberg isolated habitat boma in Limpopo province. The Boma technique is very popular in Africa. In this, animals are chased through a funnel (V shape) like fence and they are confined in an enclosure. The Environment Ministry said, 'After the arrival of these 12 cheetahs in February, there is a plan to bring 12 cheetahs to the country annually in the next eight to 10 years. It will be reviewed every five years to ensure the relevance of the terms of the MoU.

According to the Cheetah Rehabilitation Action Plan in India prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India, ideally around 12-14 cheetahs will be imported from South Africa, Namibia and other African countries for the initial five years and later as required to establish a new cheetah population.