In a new development in the cheetah programme, India and South Africa have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to introduce dozens of African cheetahs to India over the next 10 years, Reuters reported.
“The initial group of 12 cheetahs will be airlifted from South Africa to India in February 2023,” South Africa's environment department said in a statement.
“We plan to transfer 12 more animals per year over the next eight to 10 years,” the ministry added.
The 12 cheetahs will be kept in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, which already houses eight African cheetahs that were transferred from Namibia. The eight cheetahs, five females and three males, were introduced to Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh on September 17 last year.
News agency PTI had earlier reported that South Africa's Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, had approved India's proposal to relocate the cheetahs in November.
Officials were awaiting final approval of the formal agreement between the two countries by the South African president.
“Nine cheetahs have been quarantined at Royberg Veterinary Services, run by wildlife veterinarian Dr Andy Fraser, in South Africa's Limpopo province, while the remaining three have been quarantined at Phinda Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal,” an official told PTI in September last year.
According to separate media reports, the delegation will leave for South Africa in February and will bring 12 big cats to India, taking the total number of cheetahs in India to 20.
Chasing, hunting for sport, overhunting and habitat loss led to the cheetah disappearing entirely from India, and in 1952 the Indian government declared the cheetah extinct in the country.
Since the 1970s, the Indian government has been working to re-establish cheetah habitat in the country where it once lived, which resulted in an agreement with Namibia and the donation of the first eight cheetahs on July 20 last year to begin a reintroduction programme.
(With input from relevant agencies)
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