75 years after the extinction, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced 5 cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on September 17.
o 75 years after its extinction, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will introduce 5 cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on September 17.
o The 5 cheetahs will be brought from Windhoek, Namibia, to Jaipur, Rajasthan and from there, will be shifted by airway to Palpur in Kuno.
The last Indian cheetah died 75 years ago in 1947 in present-day Chhattisgarh and was declared extinct in the country. 75 years after its extinction, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will introduce 5 cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on September 17. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan went on to confirm the development on Tuesday.
The 5 cheetahs will be brought from Windhoek, Namibia, to Jaipur, Rajasthan and from there, will be shifted by airway to Palpur in Kuno. Two helipads have been formed inside the park for cheetahs while five helipads have been developed for VIPs who’ll be attending the event.
“The Prime Minister will be present during translocation,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated. However, the Prime Minister’s Office is yet to confirm.
The ‘African Cheetah Introduction Project’ was conceived in 2009 and a plan to introduce the animal last year in November in KNP faced a setback due to the Covid pandemic, officials said.
The Namibian and Indian Environment ministry is yet to confirm when the three cheetahs will be brought to India. Meanwhile, a team from the South African environment ministry arrived in Kuno National Park on Tuesday to prepare a risk management plan. South African cheetahs will be brought to India after a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries is signed.
Meanwhile, preparations for the cheetah translocation project are in progress in Kuno National Park as officials are shifting the leopard in the enclosure of cheetahs, uprooting weeds, thorny bushes, shrubs and herbs from the enclosure that could create trouble for the cheetahs.
“The enclosure is ready for cheetahs. The Leopard will be out soon and the enclosure is now protected with solar electric fencing. The four watchtowers have high-resolution cameras that will monitor the movement of cheetahs,” divisional forest officer PK Verma said.
