India introduced eight cheetahs from Namibia into one of its national parks Saturday after declaring the species extinct in 1952.
The cheetahs include three male and five female adult cheetahs, all between 2 and 5.5 years old, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund. They arrived in a tiger-themed airplane and were released in Kuno National Park, which totes a population of 33 species of mammals, 206 species of birds, 14 species of fishes, 33 species of reptiles, and 10 species of amphibians, according to its website.
"A long wait is over, the Cheetahs have a home in India at the Kuno National Park," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted with photos of the big cats. A long wait is over, the Cheetahs have a home in India at the Kuno National Park. pic.twitter.com/8FqZAOi62F"The Cheetah Project with India is something that every Namibian can take pride in.
India previously used captive cheetahs to hunt antelope across the country, which was a major pastime due to the antelope's cultural and religious significance. Cheetahs were also hunted allegedly due to being"man-eaters," according to Ambica Singh Deo, granddaughter of royal family patriarch Raja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo, who is credited with killing the final three cheetahs in the country.
"The goal of our project is to reverse the tide for cheetahs, to slow, then stop their decline, while at the same time increasing the biodiversity and health of Indian ecosystems," Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India Dr Jhala Yadvendradev said.
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