'Great News': PM Modi Rejoices Release Of Two Cheetahs In Bigger Enclosure At Kuno National Park

PM Narendra Modi expressed happiness over the release of two cheetahs in the big enclosure of Kuno National Park after completing their quarantine successfully.

New Delhi: The Two Cheetahs brought from Namibia have completed their quarantine and are now released in the bigger enclosure of Kuno National Park. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his joy by tweeting the video of the Cheetahs’ release which was released by him in September on his birthday. 

Sharing the video of two Cheetahs, PM Modi tweeted, “Great News! I Am told that after the mandatory quarantine, 2 cheetahs have been released to a bigger enclosure for further adaptation to the Kuno Habitat. Others will be released soon. I’m also glad to know that all cheetahs are healthy, active, and adjusting well.”

These Two cheetahs from Namibia had been introduced in the Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh by PM Modi and were in mandatory quarantine from the start. After completing the quarantine Cheetahs have been released into the bigger habitat of the national park. 

The Forest Officer of the National Park said both the Cheetahs are in healthy condition and adjusting well to the environment. 

These Cheetahs were introduced in India by PM Modi on September 17, his Birthday this year.

Cheetahs released in the big enclosure required a non-objection certificate from the Ministry Of Animal Husbandry. The remaining cheetahs will also be released soon after the quarantine clearance from the side of the responsible ministry. 

Division Forest Officer (DFO) of Kuno Wildlife Circle Prakash Kumar Verma told news agency ANI “After the completion of the quarantine period of the cheetahs brought from Namibia, two male cheetahs will also be released in a big enclosure. The rest of the cheetahs will also be released in a phase-wise manner soon”.

An officer of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change reported to ANI on the condition of anonymity, “They have received the no objection certificate from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry. Government of India, For quarantine clearance of eight cheetahs which were brought from Namibia on a special plane and introduced by Prime Minister On September 17 at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.”

This Certificate of No Objection for the release of Cheetahs was given based on routine observation and their negative test reports, ANI reported.

Sources of ANI also added,” The Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) were found free from any infectious disease and a final no objection certificate is accorded to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry”.

“The Cheetahs brought from Namibia and introduced in Kuno National Park on September 17 are healthy, alert, vigilant, active, and taking normal diet, Normal Water and defecation. The quarantine period of 30 days is over. So far two cheetahs were in a big enclosure yesterday and very soon other six cheetahs will be released in a phased manner in a big enclosure of the park where they can hunt,” said a senior official of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Another official from the same ministry added that all arrangements have been made for the release of the cheetahs in big enclosures and it is likely that all the cheetahs will find their new enclosure by Nov 10, 2022. 

“This is already a Big success that no Animal died in intercontinental translocation and not only this, all the Cheetahs that came to India are safe, normal and to date did not face any kind of problems here despite the very long distance journey due to our excellent preparations for them,” said a senior official.

This reintroduction of Cheetahs was necessary to revitalize and diversify the country’s wildlife and habitat, as cheetahs disappeared from the nation. In 1947-48 the last three cheetahs were hunted by the Maharaja of Korea in Chhattisgarh and the last cheetah was seen at the same time. In 1952 the Indian government declared them extinct and since then the current BJP government has restored them after almost 75 years.

As it is said that cheetahs are the fastest animal. They run at the 100 to 120 KM Per Hour speed. This is the ambitious project of the central government to reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs, running as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.

India has a great history of wildlife conservation. Project Tiger is one of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures of 1972. It has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem as well.

This habitat of Kuno is ideal for them to get familiar with the environment. This beautiful national park has large grasslands, small hills, and forests. With the heavy security arrangements, the national park is away from poaching activities. Radio coolers are also installed there to monitor the cheetahs through satellite. There is also a team for each cheetah to monitor them for 24 hours.

(With Agency Inputs)