PM Modi To Release 8 Cheetahs In MP's Kuno National Park On His Birthday. Key Points

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release three of them into the Kuno National Park's quarantine enclosures, according to an official.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ( Image Source :PIB )

A special cargo plane carrying eight cheetahs from Namibia has left for Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, according to a senior forest official, news agency PTI reported. Earlier today, the officials informed that the landing destination of the special cargo plane carrying these felines was changed – from Jaipur in Rajasthan to Gwalior. 

The cheetahs will be flown to Gwalior early Saturday morning, where they will be transported in a special helicopter to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release three of them into the park's quarantine enclosures, according to an official.

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.

Key Updates: 

1. According to the official, PM Modi will arrive at Gwalior airport from New Delhi at approximately 9.20 a.m. and go for Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district, some 165 kilometres away, where he would release cheetahs into quarantine cages at around 10.45 a.m.
2. According to a senior police officer, the special cargo jet carrying eight cheetahs from Namibia would land at Gwalior airport in Madhya Pradesh at 6 a.m. on September 17, which is also Modi's birthday.
3. The feline will subsequently be transported to KNP via a helicopter.
4. The special jet transporting the big cats from Africa was supposed to land at Jaipur airport and then be flown to KNP, which is around 400 kilometres from the Rajasthan city.
5. The prime minister's release of wild cheetahs in KNP is part of his initiatives to revitalise and diversify India's wildlife and habitat, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Thursday.
6. The fastest land mammal is being introduced into India as part of Operation Cheetah, the world's first inter-continental big wild carnivore translocation project, according to a release.
7. Cheetahs will aid in the restoration of India's open forest and grassland habitats. According to the report, this will help maintain biodiversity and improve ecosystem services such as water security, carbon sequestration, and soil moisture conservation, benefiting society as a whole.
8. After releasing the cheetahs, Modi will engage in a reforestation initiative in Karahal, Sheopur district, and then visit a local school to attend a conference of women self-help groups (SHGs), according to authorities.
9. The PM will arrive in Gwalior following the SHG event and leave for New Delhi in the afternoon, according to sources.
10. Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh is spread over 748 square kilometres. It is estimated to have a capacity to sustain 21 cheetahs.

 

(With Inputs From PTI)