Then, they took a private jet to Jaipur, India. On Friday, the cheetahs traveled from the CCF’s center to the Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek, Namibia. It took a multi-step journey to get the cats from Namibia, on Africa’s southwestern coast, to central India. The animals chosen for the 11-hour trek were selected “based on an assessment of health, wild disposition, hunting skills, and ability to contribute genetics that will result in a strong founder population,” says the organization. Each cheetah was vaccinated, fitted with a satellite collar and kept in isolation at the fund’s location in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, according to the release. The group that arrived in Kuno consists of three male and five female adult cheetahs from Namibia, according to a news release from the CCF. In January, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced in a news release that the government planned to release 50 cheetahs into Indian national parks over the next five years. The release of the eight animals is part of a larger plan to reintroduce the cats to their former range. Courtesy of Cheetah Conservation Fund/Reuters Vets draw blood from a cheetah to be transported to India at Erindi, Namibia, August 4, 2022. In Iran, there are just 12 adult cheetahs in the wild. There are now less than 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild, says the WWF. Habitat loss, poaching, and conflict with humans have greatly reduced their populations. Historically, cheetahs roamed throughout the Middle East and central India as well as most of sub-Saharan Africa. ![]() Today, the spotted felines are found in southern and eastern Africa, particularly in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).īut the endangered cats used to have a much larger range. “A long wait is over,” Modi wrote on Twitter alongside pictures of the cats in their new environment.Ĭheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952 and are the only large carnivore in the country to have suffered that fate. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who was celebrating his 72nd birthday – was there to welcome the cheetahs to their new home. Rare triplet Asiatic cheetah cubs mark an important first for the species Three rare Asiatic cheetah cubs were born in Iran.
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