Twelve wild cheetahs from South Africa have begun their journey to India On Friday to be released in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.
The spotted cats will arrive in the country on Saturday, five months after a batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia were introduced to the reserve by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav tweeted to announce their arrival in India tomorrow. “The 12 cheetahs arriving from South Africa, under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji to restore our ecological balance, have begun their journey to India. Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster aircraft will get them home tomorrow. Get ready to welcome them,” he said.
The cheetahs will be transported on Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster Cargo plane which is expected to arrive at Gwalior Airport at 10:00 am.
This exercise is part of Project Cheetah, an effort by the Centre to re-introduce cheetahs in India in order to establish a viable population here, 71 years after the last of the spotted cats was hunted down in 1952.
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