South africa inks mou to send 12 cheetahs to kuno national park (knp).

January 28, 2023

12 Cheetah from South Africa are expected to arrive by February-March 2023. Earlier in September 2022. KNP had received eight cheetahs from Namibia.
Project Cheetah, approved by Supreme Court in 2020 aims to reintroduce atleast 50 cheetahs over next five years.
It is world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.
National Tiger Conservation Authority is nodal agency authorized lot funding and supervision of project.

Significance of Cheetah restoration

Restoring open forest and grassland ecosystems in India.
Conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration etc.
Enhanced livelihood opportunities for local community through eco-development and ecotourism activities.
Cheetah is a keystone species (organism that helps define an entire ecosystem) of dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
It is the only large wild mammalian species that went extinct from India.
Protected Under Appendix I of CITES.
IUCN status: African Cheetah (Vulnerable) and Asiatic Cheetah (Critically endangered)
Major Cheetah range countries: Namibia. Botswana. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya in Africa, and Iran and India in Asia.

Kuno National Park

KNP is situated in Vlndhyan Hills in Madhya Pradesh.
It falls under Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forest eco-region and vegetation is dominated by Kardhai, Khan and Saki trees.