African cheetahs strides out on to the pasture of Kuno National Park in central India, their final terminus after a 5,000-mile (8,000 km) journey from Namibia. The advent of the big cats - the fastest land animal on Earth - coincides with the 72nd birthday of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who let out the first cat into the park on Saturday. It is the high-point of a 13-year effort to restore a species which faded away from India some 70 years ago. The cheetahs were brought to Gwalior from Namibia in a special plane as part of the cheetah reintroduction programme. The animals were later flown to the KNP, located in Sheopur district, in two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday marked the arrival of the big cat in India, ending the 70 year extinction of the cheetah in the country. Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park welcomed eight cheetahs brought all the way from Namibia in an effort to revive the population of the big cat in the country. After the cheetahs were introduced into the wild, they were also christened with curious names.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi named one of the cheetahs as Asha, which is ‘Hope’ in the language Hindi. This name bears a special meaning to the country, as it elevates the hope of conservation and environment sustainability in India. Asha is a four year old female cheetah, who was not named when she was initially brought to the country. The christening of the female cheetah was saved for the instance of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.
Another cheetah, who is considered to be a close friend of Sasha, has been named Savannah. The last female cheetah has been named Siyaya. The male cheetahs in the group have been christened Freddie, Elton, and Oban, as per media reports.
In July 2020, India and the Republic of Namibia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) around the conservation of cheetahs. The MoU includes Namibia’s participation in Project Cheetah, with the government agreeing to donate the first eight cheetahs to launch the program. This is the first time that wild southern African cheetahs will be initiated in India, or in Asia, or on any other continent. It is truly the return of the cheetah.