MP’s Zootopia: India to Welcome 12 Cheetahs from South Africa on Saturday | Action Plan Details Here

In a historic effort to reintroduce the majestic cheetah to the wilds of India, the country is preparing to welcome 12 new arrivals from South Africa.

The cheetahs, which are set to arrive on Saturday, are the first of an expected 12 annual translocations as part of an ambitious 8-10-year plan to repopulate the endangered species in the country.

The arrival of the cheetahs marks the culmination of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by India and South Africa in January, which lays out a roadmap for the conservation and reintroduction of the cheetah to India.

The Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has been identified as the ideal location for the reintroduction, owing to its suitable habitat and abundance of prey.

ACTION PLAN

On Thursday afternoon, the Indian Air Force transport aircraft will arrive at the OR Tambo International Airport, Gauteng, South Africa and will park at Swissport to facilitate cargo shipment. Three of the cats have been kept in Phinda quarantine boma (predator-proof enclosures) in KwaZulu-Natal Province and nine in Rooiberg Quarantine boma in Limpopo Province. Cheetahs will receive their final feed on Wednesday morning, prior to relocation. These cheetahs will be translocated in the specially designed ‘relocation crates’.

On Friday morning, all 12 cheetahs will be darted and loaded into relocation crates in Phinda and Rooiberg Bomas. Cheetahs will be hydrated with drips and their collar fittings will be checked. Their DNA samples will also be taken. They will be flown to OR Tambo Airport either by Aircraft or driven to the Airport.

On Saturday evening, the cheetahs will be loaded onto transport aircraft and the plane will take off for Gwalior, India.

Sunday will see the arrival of 12 South African cheetahs at Gwalior Air Force Base from where they will be transported to Kuno by Air Force Helicopter.

THE CHALLENGES

However, the relocation process has not been without its challenges. According to Vincent van der Merwe, a South African conservation biologist coordinating the translocation, the cheetahs have lost considerable fitness and condition during the six-month boma period. Vigilance, which is crucial for cheetahs to avoid confrontation with competing predators, has also been compromised during this time.

Moreover, the South African cheetahs will have to adapt to a new set of challenges when released into the wild in India. They will have to regain fitness, condition, and vigilance to avoid competing predators, including tigers, leopards, wolves, dholes, and sloth bears.

To ensure the well-being of the cheetahs, proper care is being taken, with health and vaccination certificates to be issued by the South African authorities. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has already conducted inspections of the quarantine bomas at Kuno National Park and issued a No Objection Certificate.

As India prepares to welcome the new arrivals, conservationists are hopeful that this landmark translocation will be a critical step towards the conservation and rejuvenation of the cheetah population in the country. Once the quarantine period is over, van der Merwe said: “The South African cheetahs should be released into free-ranging conditions, where they can behave as cheetahs have done for millions of years – catching their own food and avoiding competing predators.”​

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