PM Narendra Modi releases 8 Cheetahs in MP's Kuno National Park

Tags: National State News International News

The first batch of cheetahs, translocated from Namibia to India, has been released into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) have been brought from Namibia in Africa as part of 'Project Cheetah'.

• Eight cheetahs were brought in a cargo plane to Gwalior as part of an intercontinental cheetah translocation project.

• Later, helicopters from the Indian Air Force transported the cheetahs from Gwalior Air Force Station to Kuno National Park.

• This is the first time in the world that a large carnivore has been transferred from one continent to another.

• The cheetahs have been brought under a memorandum of understanding signed earlier this year.

Reintroduction Action Plan :

• Reintroduction of a species means releasing it in an area where it is capable of surviving.

• Under the scheme, 50 cheetahs will be released in various national parks of the country over a period of 5 years.

Extinction of cheetahs :

• The last cheetah of the country was found dead in the year 1947 in Chhattisgarh and in the year 1952 it was declared extinct in the country.

• Habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases are the major causes of their extinction.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

About ‘Project Cheetah’ :

• This is a one of its kind project in which a species is being brought out of the country (from South Africa / Namibia) and restored to the country.

• The subspecies of the extinct cheetah in India was the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and the subspecies of the cheetah being brought back to the country is the African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus).

• Research has shown that the genes of both these subspecies are similar.