Watch: First look of cheetahs to be ferried from Namibia to India on 17 September

New Delhi: A video showing the first look of cheetahs that will reach India on 17 September from Namibia was released on social media platforms on Friday.

In a video posted by news agency ANI on Twitter, 4-5 cheetahs can be spotted moving around in a desert in Namibia.

#WATCH | First look of Cheetahs that will be brought from Namibia to India on 17th September at KUNO National Park, in Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/HOjexYWtE6

— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022

Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will land in Gwalior, earlier they were supposed to land in Jaipur, on September 17 in a specially customised B747 jumbo jet as part of an inter-continental translocation project.

“A special charter Cargo flight of cheetahs coming from Namibia will now land in Gwalior, earlier it was supposed to land in Jaipur, on 17 September. Then a helicopter from Gwalior will transport them to Kuno National Park, Sheopur,” said SP Yadav, Project Cheetah chief.

A special charter Cargo flight of Cheetahs coming from Namibia will now land in Gwalior, earlier it was supposed to land in Jaipur on September 17 then from a helicopter from Gwalior brought to KUNO National Park Sheopur: SP Yadav, Project Cheetah chief

— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release these cheetahs into the Kuno National Park on his birthday on 17 September.

The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

It has been painted with the image of a tiger. The aircraft is an ultra-long range jet capable of flying for up to 16 hours and so can fly directly from Namibia to India without a stop to refuel, an important consideration for the well-being of the cheetahs.

Cheetah will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said on Tuesday.

Such a precaution is needed as a long journey may create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other complications.

The large carnivore got completely wiped out from India due to their use for coursing, sport hunting, overhunting and habitat loss. The government declared the cheetah extinct in the country in 1952.

The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh’s Koriya district.

With inputs from agencies

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