There are less than 7,000 cheetahs left in the world
New Delhi:
Eight cheetahs from Namibia – flying in a special cargo plane – will land at Gwalior airport in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning. The big cats will then be flown by helicopter to Kuno National Park, where they will be released.
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The plane carrying the cheetahs will arrive at Maharajpura Air Base in Gwalior, operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF), at around 5am this morning. An hour later, they will be flown by IAF Chinook heavy helicopters to Kuno National Park.
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Dr Laurie Marker, the world’s leading cheetah expert, who was on the plane with the big cats, said: “The cats are being given very mild sedation, but they are not being sedated. They look great.”
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According to the Cheetah Conservation Foundation (CCF), an international non-profit organization based in Namibia and dedicated to saving the fastest land animals, the five female leopards in India range in age from 2 to 5 years old. , while the males are older. from 4.5 years to 5.5 years.
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Previously, India was home to the Asian leopard, but the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952. Big cats are being brought to India from Namibia as part of a transcontinental displacement project. geography.
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The national park is located in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh, about 165 km from Gwalior. Kuno Park was chosen as a shelter because of its abundance of prey and grasslands.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to release three cheetahs into the park’s quarantine on September 17, also his birthday, an official said.
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But critics have warned that cheetahs may struggle to adapt to their habitat and could clash with the significant numbers of leopards currently available.
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Speaking to PTI news agency on Friday, the chief director of wildlife conservation in the forest (PCCF), JS Chauhan, said, “The cheetahs will go to Gwalior and from there they will be flown directly. special promotion to KNP.”
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The ‘African Leopard Introduction Project in India’ was conceived in 2009, and a plan to introduce the big cat species last November at the KNP was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. .
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Considered Vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, there are less than 7,000 cheetah species left around the world – mainly in the African savannahs.
