South Africa, India sign agreement; more than 100 cheetahs are likely to translocate

More than 100 cheetahs will be transferred to India as the part of ‘Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India’ project to reintroduce cheetahs in the south Asian country, said South Africa’s officials.

After eight spotted cats arrived from Namibia last September, an initial batch of 12 cheetahs would be flown to India next month, said the environment South Africa ministry.

“The plan is to translocate a further 12 annually for the next eight to 10 years to help establish a viable and secure cheetah population,” the ministry added in the statement.

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An agreement signed by South Africa

According to the officials, South Africa has signed an agreement with India to introduce dozens of African cheetahs to the country over the next decade.

Last year, in September, the first batch of eight Cheetahs was brought in from Namibia in was released at Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday. It was the first time wild cheetahs were moved across continents to be released. The eight cheetahs were named Freddy, Alton, Savannah, Sasha, Obaan, Asha, Cibili, and Saisa.

These cheetahs came back to India after the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952.

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Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India

Almost 70 years ago, cheetahs disappeared from India and the Indian government formulated an ‘Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India’ to establish a new cheetah population in the country.

While briefing the upper house about the government’s plans, Ashwini Kumar Choubey said, “The government has signed an MoU with the Government of the Republic of Namibia… As per Action Plan for the introduction of cheetahs every year, depending upon the availability of animals and status of the introduced cheetahs, 12-14 individuals are proposed to be brought from South Africa and Namibia or other African countries over the next five years.”