New Delhi: Eight more Cheetahs will be arriving in India from South Africa shortly, officials have confirmed. This will be the third batch of Cheetahs to be brought to India under the animal’s reintroduction programme that began in 2022.
The first batch of eight Cheetahs brought from Namibia was released into a special enclosure at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, 2022.
That marked the world’s first intercontinental relocation of a large wild carnivore species. A dozen more animals arrived from South Africa in February 2023.
India now has 27 Cheetahs, including 16 born in the country. While 24 are at Kuno, the remaining three are at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS).
Over the last three years, 19 Cheetahs – including nine imported animals and 10 cubs born in India have died of various causes. Despite the deaths, experts have called the reintroduction programme a success. Such programmes can have a mortality rate of as high as 50%, they have noted.
The fresh batch of eight Cheetahs have already been captured in Botswana. They include two males. The animals will be kept in quarantine for a month and undergo medical checks before their journey to India.
Officials said that they could be arriving sometime in January as not much work will be possible during the Christmas holidays. There are a lot of formalities that need to be taken care of before any such translocation takes place.
“We already have enclosures and facilities ready for the third batch of cheetahs, which were prepared when the animals were earlier brought from Namibia and South Africa,” Cheetah Project field director Uttam Sharma sas said, adding that the matter is being handled at the government level.
A five-member South African delegation was at GSWS on Friday after a field trip to Kuno. They appreciated the efforts made by the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments in managing the effort before leaving for South Africa.
