12 cheetahs from South Africa arrive in India.

• An IAF plane carried seven male and five female cheetahs continuing the Indian government’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme.
• Cheetahs were made available by Phinda Game Reserve, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, Waterberg Biosphere, Kwandwe Game Reserve and Mapesu Game Reserve and will join Cheetahs relocated to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh from Namibia.
• Plan is to translocate a further 12 annually for next 8 to 10 years.
• Translocation is being made under ‘Project Cheetah’
  • It is world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.
  • Nodal Agency– National Tiger Conservation Authority.

About Cheetah

• Cheetah, world’s fastest mammal, is a keystone species (organism that helps define an entire ecosystem) of dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
• Protected under Appendix 1 of CITES.
• IUCN status: African Cheetah (Vulnerable); Asiatic Cheetah (Critically endangered).
• The country’s last cheetah died in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the species was declared extinct in 1952.