The cheetahs are here: Meet the 8 big cats in India

Cheetahs in India: Eight Namibian wild cheetahs, five females and three males, have been brought to India. Here's a profile of each of them.

• By: Explained Desk
• New Delhi | Updated: September 17, 2022 10:06 AM IST
2 min read

Eight cheetahs landed in India on Saturday, over 70 years after they went extinct.

Over 70 years after they went extinct, eight cheetahs landed in India on Saturday (September 17) from Namibia. The big cats were flown in on a modified passenger B-747 Jumbo Jet, which took off from Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek and landed in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior. The cheetahs will be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of his birthday today, at Kuno National Park.

On board the jet were eight Namibian wild cheetahs, five females and three males. Here’s what you need to know about the relocation project.

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The cheetahs are here: 8 African cheetahs arrived in India, 3 males and 5 females. The cheetahs will find their new home in Kuno National Park. There are 5 female cheetahs in India now. A look at how the cheetahs travelled to India from Namibia.

A plan to reintroduce cheetahs in India that was endorsed in 2009 by then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh was shot down by the Supreme Court in 2013. The idea was revived in 2017 by the Narendra Modi government, and the SC cleared the move in 2020 “on an experimental basis”.

This is the first time in the world that a large carnivore will be relocated from one continent to another.