Cheetah Reintroduction: Special Plane Reaches Namibia, PM To Release Animals On His Birthday

Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan on September 17 in the cargo aircraft as part of an inter-continental translocation project.

New Delhi: A specially customised B747 jumbo jet, which has a tiger painted on its front, has landed in Namibia's Windhoek to bring eight cheetahs to India's Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release these cheetahs into Kuno National Park on his birthday on September 17.

"A special bird touches down in the Land of the Brave to carry goodwill ambassadors to the Land of the Tiger," the High Commission of India in Namibia tweeted on Wednesday.

The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. 

Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan on September 17 in the aircraft as part of an inter-continental translocation project. The big cats will then be taken to Kuno National Park in MP's Sheopur district in helicopters. 

"The release of wild cheetahs by the prime minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify India’s wildlife and its habitat," the PMO said in a statement.

The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin. However, it will still allow full access to veterinarians for the cats during the flight, according to PTI.

The aircraft is an ultra-long range jet capable of flying for up to 16 hours and so it can fly directly from Namibia to India without a stop to refuel.

The cheetahs will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official told PTI. A precaution is needed as the long journey may create nausea-like feelings in animals, leading to other complications.

Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh is spread over 748 square kilometres. It is estimated to have a capacity to sustain 21 cheetahs.

Cheetahs got completely wiped out from India due to their use for coursing, sport hunting, overhunting and habitat loss. The government declared the cheetah extinct in the country in 1952. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district.

(With PTI and ANI inputs)