The animal making a comeback to India for the first time in 70 years
Asiatic Cheetahs were officially declared extinct in 1952
www.independent.co.uk
Eight Cheetahs from Namibia will soon make India their home, the government has announced. The Asiatic cheetahs were declared to be officially extinct in 1952 in India.
Now, thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the Indian government signed with Namibia, eight cheetahs shall be brought to the country in what was described by one minister as a “historic” pact.
India’s environment minister Bhupender Yadav and Namibia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah signed the MoU, Wednesday, on wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization for “establishing the cheetah into the historical range in India,” a statement said.
The cheetahs shall be brought to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
The statement added that “while the current carrying capacity for Kuno National Park is a maximum of 21 cheetahs, once restored the larger landscape can hold about 36 cheetahs. The carrying capacity can be further enhanced by including the remaining part of the Kuno Wildlife Division (1,280 sq km) through prey restoration.”