IAF Plane Leaves for S Africa to bring 12 cheetahs to India

New Delhi: A C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) left for South Africa on Thursday to transport 12 cheetahs from S Africa. According to National Tiger Conservation Authority, these cheetahs will arrive in India on February 18.

Meanwhile, Union Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav informed that 10 quarantine enclosures have been constructed in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park for 12 South African cheetahs arriving in India.

Last year eight Cheetahs from Namibia had been resettled in this national park.

The cheetahs to be brought from South Africa include seven males and five females. They will be boarded on the IAF transport aircraft from the OR Tambo International Airport, Gauteng, South Africa on Friday evening.

For Project Cheetah, India and South Africa have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Under it, dozens of African cheetahs will be brought to Indian forests over the next 10 years.

Due to overhunting and habitat loss, Cheetahs became extinct in India. The government declared the extinction of Cheetahs in India in 1952. Now Indian government is trying to re-establish the Cheetah species in the country. For which pacts are signed with Namibia and South Africa.  Namibia donated the first eight Cheetahs to India for the Cheetah reintroduction programme.