By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South Africa has reached an agreement to introduce dozens of African cheetahs to India in the next ten years, Johannesburg’s environmental department said on Thursday.
The cheetah transfer to the Asian country comes after the first were sent out last year from neighbouring Namibia.
“An initial batch of 12 cheetah are scheduled to be flown from South Africa to India in February 2023,” South Africa’s environmental department said in a statement.
It added, “The plan is to translocate a further 12 annually for the next eight to 10 years.”
A big cat species similar to the cheetah disappeared from India some 70 years ago.
In September, eight radio-collared African cheetahs were released at Kuno National Park in central India after a journey covering 5,000-mile (8,000 km) from Namibia.
This is the first time wild cheetahs have been moved across continents to be released.
The South Africa’s big cats transfers will join those introduced from Namibia.
