Cheetahs will help restore open forest and grassland ecosystems in India
India on Saturday received eight Cheetahs, seven decades after their local extinction. The wild card arrived on a Boeing 747 on the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He introduced three of these animals to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park as part of the ambitious Project Cheetah. "Project Cheetah, under which the cheetahs were reintroduced in the country after they became extinct seven decades ago, is our endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation," he said.
A video circulating on social media platforms like Twitter shows the inside of the Boeing 747 that brought these cheetahs to India from Namibia in Africa. The clip also shows the visuals of the cages in which the cheetahs were kept onboard the plane.
While four boxes are kept in one part of the plane, the other four are separated. According to the narrator's voice in the video, it has been shot moments before the plane landed in India.
Cheetahs will help restore open forest and grassland ecosystems in India.
Their return will also help conserve biodiversity and enhance the ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation, benefiting society at large.
Project Cheetah is in line with the Prime Minister's commitment to environmental protection and wildlife conservation, and will also lead to enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community through eco-development and ecotourism activities.