The decade-long project of bringing African cheetahs to the Indian subcontinent seventy years after the animal’s extinction in the country is finally coming to fruition. After much discussion, negotiations, and planning, eight cheetahs will arrive in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno-Palpur National Park (KPNP) on September 17. Namibia cheetahs will be traveling via air to India on empty stomach to avoid any nausea-like feeling to circumvent further complications.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change officials have been looking after arrangements related to the project. The cheetahs will land in Rajasthan’s Jaipur this weekend from a cargo aircraft as part of the inter-continental translocation project. Afterward, the animals will be flown on the same day to the Kuno-Palpur National Park in the Sheopur district.
Food will be given to the felines after their arrival at the KPNP after taking off from Namibia and nowhere in the journey. MP Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) JS Chauhan said that this move has been decided as a precaution as the long journey may cause nausea-like feelings in the animals.
Image: David Yarrow/Tusk via AP
The exact travel time between Namibia and Jaipur is not known, however, a passenger plane from the Namibian capital and New Delhi takes nearly 17 hours with a four-hour stop midway. One can assume the journey will not be over 20 hours, but it still is a very long voyage.
Reportedly, the cheetahs will be kept in small enclosures for the first month and then moved to bigger ones to acclimatize and familiarize them with the surroundings. Thereafter, they will be released into the wild.
The consequences and implications of this relocation project can only be determined after the shift. However, many experts still remain skeptical of the move and have stated that this relocation can prove detrimental to the cheetahs.
Via: Hindustan Times