Botswana hands 8 cheetahs to India, President Murmu says will help revive habitat in Kuno National Park │Watch

Botswana's President Duma Gideon Boko on November 13 handed over eight cheetahs to President Droupadi Murmu at Mokolodi Nature Reserve in the African country, ANI reported on November 13.

In a statement on the gesture, Murmu called it a reflection of Botswana's commitment to wildlife conservation. This came during the last day of Murmu's three-day state visit to Botswana, PTI reported.

“...The gifting of these cheetahs is a reflection of Botswana's commitment to wildlife conservation. These cheetahs will join their brothers and sisters in India's Kuno National Park, helping us to restore the species of this historical habitat...” Murmu said, as per an ANI report.

Botswana hands 8 cheetahs to India: WATCH

Boko on November 13 symbolically handed over eight cheetahs to Murmu at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, about 10 kms south of capital Gaborone. The two leaders took a safari vehicle early in the morning to witness the two captured big cats being released into a quarantine pen, the PTI report added.

Symbolic handover of 8 cheetahs: What we know

• Wildlife officials from India and Botswana briefed Murmu and Boko about the procedure. The eight cheetahs are expected to reach India over the next few weeks, after the quarantine process is completed.
• According to officials, while the reserve has eight cheetahs, only two were released for quarantine in Murmu and Boko's presence as a symbolic gesture.
• The cheetahs comprise a mix of adult and sub-adult males and females transported to the nature reserve from the Ghanzi town located in the Kalahari Desert. Notably, the dessert forms 70% of Botswana's landscape.
• Spread over 3,700 hectares, the Mokolodi reserve is a private not-for-profit game reserve that was created in 1994.
• Official information showed that other animals at the reserve include giraffes, rhinoceros, and a variety of indigenous African bird and reptile species, some of which are rare and vulnerable to the threat of extinction.

Project Cheetah: India's cheetah population at 27

Murmu and Boko announced the translocation of the cheetahs from Botswana to India as part of Project Cheetah on November 12 during a press briefing after holding delegation level talks at Boko's office here. The Indian president thanked Botswana and assured that India will take “good care” of the cheetahs.

Boko said his country's move to donate the cheetahs will assist regeneration of the population of the big cat in India.

The Project's first re-introduction of the big cat in India was on September 17, 2022, when eight cheetahs brought from Namibia into a special enclosure at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. It also marked the world's first intercontinental relocation of a large wild carnivore species. India later imported 12 more cheetahs from South Africa in February 2023.

Now, three years later, India has 27 cheetahs, including 16 born on Indian soil. Of them, 24 are at Kuno and three are at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS), located on the boundary of Mandsaur and Neemuch districts in Madhya Pradesh.

Further, 19 cheetahs (nine imported adults and 10 cubs born in India) have died from various causes since the project began. A total of 26 cubs have been born in Kuno so far.

After importing 20 animals from Africa, India currently has a net gain of seven cheetahs over the initial number.

(With inputs from Agencies)