MP: Male, female cheetahs brought from Namibia to Kuno National Park now released in open forest
Mar 11, 2023
Sheopur (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 11 : Out of the eight cheetahs from Namibia that were released on September 17, 2022 in Kuno National Park, a male cheetah Oban and a female cheetah Asha were released into the open forest, said Divisional Forest Officer Prakash Kumar Verma.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the eight cheetahs into Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park last year in December.
PM Modi released two cheetahs from enclosure number one and after that about 70 meters away, from the second enclosure released another cheetah.
The cheetahs were declared extinct from India in 1952 but today 8 cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) were brought from Africa's Namibia as part of 'Project Cheetah' and the government's efforts to revitalise and diversify the country's wildlife and habitat.
The eight cheetahs were brought in a cargo aircraft in Gwalior as part of an inter-continental cheetah translocation project. Later, the Indian Air Force choppers carried the cheetahs to Kuno National Park from Gwalior Air Force Station.
Cheetahs have been brought under an MoU signed earlier this year.
Cheetahs will help in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India and will help conserve biodiversity and enhance the ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation.
Under the ambitious Project Cheetah of the Indian government, the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs was undertaken as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.
India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures 'Project Tiger', which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem.
