MP: 12 Cheetahs To Arrive From South Africa On Saturday, To Be Released In KNP By CM Chouhan, Union Minister

"These 12 cheetahs, comprising seven males and five females, will arrive in Gwalior in the morning and will be released in the bomas at KNP at 11 am," Gupta informed.

Representational Image. (File Photo)

An official stated that twelve cheetahs arriving in Madhya Pradesh from South Africa on Saturday will be released into quarantine enclosures in Kuno National Park (KNP) by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union minister Bhupender Yadav, news agency PTI reported.

These seven males and five females are the second group of big cats to arrive in KNP in Sheopur district, following the release of eight large cats from Namibia on September 17 last year at a celebration attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking with PTI, the state's head of forest force (HoFF), Ramesh Gupta stated: "They will arrive in MP from South Africa at 11am on Saturday. MP CM Chouhan and Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav will release them in the quarantine bomas (enclosures)."

"These 12 cheetahs, comprising seven males and five females, will arrive in Gwalior in the morning and will be released in the bomas at KNP at 11 am," Gupta informed.

According to sources, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia are expected to attend the event, however confirmation is pending, PTI reported.

An expert involved with the operation previously stated that the cheetahs will depart from OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, South Africa, on Friday evening onboard an Indian Air Force cargo aircraft, arriving at Gwalior Air Force post on Saturday.

These large animals would be flown to KNP, some 165 kilometres away, on board IAF aircraft thirty minutes after arriving in Gwalior, he added.

The eight cheetahs who arrived from Namibia in September are currently being housed in hunting cages before being released into the wild.

The last cheetah in India died in 1947 in the Koriya area of modern-day Chhattisgarh, and the species was declared extinct in 1952.

The reintroduction of the cheetah is part of a large-scale effort that began in 2009 under the Congress-led UPA administration, when Jairam Ramesh was the Union Environment Minister.

The eight cheetahs who arrived from Namibia in September are currently being housed in hunting cages before being released into the wild.

(With Inputs From PTI)