Eight more cheetahs will be airlifted from Botswana to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) on Saturday, marking the third intercontinental translocation under India’s ambitious cheetah revival programme and raising the country’s total cheetah count to 46.
The batch, comprising six females and two males, will depart Botswana aboard an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft and is expected to land in Gwalior between 9 pm and 10 pm on Friday, Cheetah Project Director Uttam Sharma told PTI. From there, two IAF helicopters will ferry the big cats to Kuno, with their arrival scheduled between 9 am and 10 am on Saturday. The flight from Botswana to Gwalior will take around nine to 10 hours.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav will release the cheetahs into specially prepared enclosures at KNP.
Sharma said the cheetahs will remain in quarantine for about a month in enclosures readied at the park, which has five helipads to ensure safe landing and swift transfer.
“The arrival of more cheetahs will strengthen India's cheetah revival programme. With the support of the central government, we aim to increase the population to 50 as soon as possible,” Sharma said.
This is the third such transfer from Africa, following earlier introductions from Namibia in September 2022 and South Africa in February 2023. Like previous operations, the IAF is facilitating the airlift.
Currently, three cheetahs have been relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur district, while 35 remain at Kuno National Park. Officials said endangered species are not housed in a single habitat due to the risk of disease outbreaks that could wipe out an entire population.
Since 2023, 39 cubs have been born at KNP, of which 27 have survived. Last year, 12 cubs were born, though six, including three cubs, did not survive. Between February 7 and February 18 this year, eight cubs were born in two litters.
Namibia-born Jwala and Aasha; South Africa-born Gamini, Veera and Nirva; and India-born Mukhi have all produced litters at KNP, officials said.
The cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, became extinct in India nearly seven decades ago.