Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, a well-known animal conservationist, took to Twitter to praise Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter's visit to Karnataka on Sunday to take part in various 'Project Tiger' events. PM Modi arrived at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka to attend a program organized on the occasion of completion of 50 years of 'Project Tiger' in India. PM Modi enjoyed a 20-km 'jungle safari' on the special occassion and launched International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA), an endeavour for conservation of big cats.
Calling the Indian Prime Minister 'World leader' and 'iconic', Pietersen wrote on Twitter, "ICONIC! A world leader who adores wild animals and is so excited when spending time with them in their natural habitat. Remember, for his last birthday, he released cheetahs into the wild in India. HERO, @narendramodi."
ALSO READ | 'He Has Bowled Absolute Rubbish': Gavaskar Lambasts Yash Dayal For Poor Outing Vs KKR In IPL 2023
Kevin Pietersen hails PM Modi for his efforts towards animal conservation in India
Kevin Pietersen gained immense popularity and praise for his charity work for SORAI (Save our Rhinos in Africa and India). The ex-England cricketer had met PM Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in New Delhi in March. Last month, 12 cheetahs arrived at India's Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh from South Africa.
The population of tigers in India in 2022 was 3,167. According to the latest data available, population of tigers in India was 1411 in 2006, 1706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014, 2,967 in 2018 and 3,167 in 2022. After the successful rehabilitation, the total number of big cats in the national park rose to 20.