India Welcomes Second Batch Of Cheetahs From South Africa. In Pics

On Saturday, 12 cheetahs were brought to Madhya Pradesh from South Africa and put into quarantine enclosures in the Kuno National Park (KNP) in the state's Sheopur district. (Image Source: Indian Air Force)

After being taken to the KNP from Gwalior around noon, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister for Environment and Forests Bhupender Yadav released these felines into quarantine bomas. (Image Source: Indian Air Force)

Around 10 am, an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane transporting them in wooden boxes from South Africa landed at Gwalior airport. They were then taken to the KNP on IAF helicopters. (Image Source: Indian Air Force)

These cheetahs - seven males and five females - are the state's second group of big cats, following the release of eight Namibian cheetahs into the KNP on September 17 last year during a celebration attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Image Source: Indian Air Force)

With the addition of these 12 cheetahs, the KNP now has a total of 20 cheetahs.(Image Source: Indian Air Force)

South African cheetahs have been quarantined, Kuno Divisional Forest Officer P K Verma told PTI on the spot. A project participant and specialist previously stated that these animals had begun on a voyage to their new home thousands of miles away aboard an IAF transport aircraft from the O R Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, South Africa, shortly before midnight, PTI reported. (Image Source: Twitter)

The intercontinental movement of these fastest land creatures, first from Namibia and now from South Africa, is part of India's ambitious cheetah restoration initiative. The last cheetah in the country died in 1947 in the Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh, and the species was declared extinct in 1952. (Image Source: Twitter)