INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Twelve more Cheetahs (7 males and 5 females) will be translocated to India on Saturday, taking the overall variety of spotted
felines in the country to 20 under the ongoing Cheetah reintroduction strategy
The new batch of 12 Cheetahs will come from South Africa to Gwalior (at 10 am on Saturday) using a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian
Air Force (IAF), and onwards to Kuno National Park (at 11 am on Saturday) in Madhya Pradesh utilizing Mi-17 helicopter
The IAF airplane left the Hindon air base in Uttar Pradesh Thursday early morning for South Africa to pick up the Cheetahs.A delegation of
Cheetah experts, veterinarians and senior authorities from both India and South Africa will be accompanying the felines throughout the
transcontinental translocation workout
Post arrival in India, all 12 cheetahs will be housed in specifically produced enclosures at Kuno National Park for finishing the compulsory
quarantine duration where the animals will be intensively monitored.Earlier on September 17 last year, the very first batch of eight
Cheetahs was translocated to Kuno National Park from Namibia
All Cheetahs from the first batch are keeping well other than the one named Sasa
As per the action prepare for Cheetah reintroduction in India, each year a minimum of 10-12 cheetahs are needed to be imported from African
countries for the next five years
Eight Cheetahs who concerned India in September in 2015 have actually adapted well (to their environments)
India is now ready to welcome 12 more Cheetahs from South Africa, said environment minister Bhupender Yadav while revealing the
translocation information on Thursday
The 12 Cheetahs will be released in Kuno National Park on Saturday by Yadav and the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The goal of the Cheetah intro job in India is to develop feasible cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the Cheetah to perform its
practical function as a leading predator and supply space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historic range consequently adding to
its worldwide preservation efforts, said Yadav.The last Cheetahs in the Indian wilderness were recorded in 1947 where three Cheetahs were
shot in the Sal (Shorea robusta) forests of central India
The primary factors for the decline of Cheetah in India were big scale capture of animals from the wild for rushing, bounty and sport
hunting, substantial environment conversion together with ensuing decline in victim base
Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952
SIGNIFICANT OBJECTIVES OF THE CHEETAH INTRODUCTION PROJECTTo establish breeding cheetah populations in safe habitats throughout its historic
variety and manage them as a metapopulationTo use the cheetah as a charming flagship and umbrella species to garner resources for restoring
open forest and savanna systems that will benefit biodiversity and ecosystem services from these ecosystemsTo utilize the taking place
chance for eco-development and eco-tourism to boost local neighborhood livelihoodsTo handle any dispute by cheetah or other wildlife with
regional neighborhoods within cheetah sanctuary expediently through compensation, awareness, and management action
