Twelve South African Cheetahs Were Delivered to India to Revive Cheetah Population

 CNN reported that twelve "wild-born" cheetahs arrived in India from Namibia on Saturday, 18 February 2023, to be released into the Kuno National Park, in central Madhya Pradesh state. There are already eight cheetahs that were delivered to India from Namibia in 2022, and with these twelve will make twenty cheetahs in India that came from Namibia, Africa.

Cheetah; credit: Christin Noelle

CNN reported "the cheetahs are part of an initiative by India and South Africa to reintroduce the cheetah in India, according to a joint statement from India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, South Africa."

This initiative will "expand the cheetah meta-population and reintroduce cheetahs to a former range state following their local extinction due to overhunting and loss of habitat in the last century."

South Africa plans to "relocate 12 cheetahs each year for the next 8 to 10 years."

Cheetahs arriving in crates from Johannesburg, South Africa

Cheetahs can be seen (in the photos above) arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa. They arrived in India on Saturday, 18 February 2023, and will be airlifted by helicopters by the India Air Force to the final destination, which is Kuno National Park in central Madhya Pradesh state.

Why are Cheetahs from Namibia, Africa Being Relocated to India?

Cheetahs are being reintroduced to India in an initiative between India and South Africa after they were completely gone from India for decades. They became extinct in India due to overhunting and loss of habitat.

Cheetahs can be found naturally in the African states of Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. There are less than 7,000 cheetahs remaining in the wild, according to the World Wide Fund (WWF), formerly known as the "World Wildlife Fund."

According to CNN, cheetahs "used to live much more widely, roaming throughout the Middle East and central India, and most of sub-Saharan Africa." 

Their numbers have dwindled down to less than 7,000 in the wild due to conflict with humans, habitat loss, and poaching.

Thoughts

It's great that twelve cheetahs and more will be reintroduced to a place where they once roamed. It says they were wild-born, but some may wonder how they were extracted from their natural habitat in Namibia.

Do you think this cheetah initiative between India and South Africa will revitalize the dwindling Cheetah population? (Leave your thoughts in the comments)