Once extinct in India, cheetahs set for reintroduction

STORY: These cheetahs are going to be

reintroduced to India

The animals went extinct in the country in 1952

reportedly due to poaching and habitat loss

(Prashant Agrawal, High Commissioner of India to Namibia)

“So, we are trying to get cheetah back to India that will help us fill a void, a gap which was created in our ecosystems. But we are also mindful that all the additional resources and protection that will go into designated areas where cheetah will come back will also help all other species. So, we are very excited about it.”

Five female and eight male cheetahs

have been relocated from Namibia

Their new home will be

India’s Kuno National Park

(Yadvendradev Jhala, Wildlife Institute of India)

"The major threat to the extinction of the cheetah has been addressed. It was primarily hunting and collection for private collections for having animals, coercing wildlife, that threat is gone. The Wildlife Protection Act is in place, which prevents all kinds of hunting in the country. We have good protected areas which are large enough to have populations of cheetah within them.”