PM Modi releases 8 Cheetahs in Kuno National Park
New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 8 Namibian Cheetahs, including 5 females and 3 males, in the Kuno National Park in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, September 17, 2022, which also happens to be his birthday.
PM Modi congratulated all Indians upon releasing the wild cat species and said, “Today the cheetahs have returned to our land after decades. On this historic day, I want to congratulate all Indians and also thank the Namibian Government.”
“Decades ago, the age-old link of biodiversity was broken and had become extinct. Today, we have a chance to reconnect it. These Cheetahs have awakened the nature-loving conscience of India with full force,” he said.
The big cats left the Namibian capital Windhoek via a special cargo plane and reached the Indian city of Gwalior around 8 am on Saturday, September 17, 2022.
The PM requested the citizens to be patient while watching the Namibian cheetahs in the National Park. “Cheetahs are our guest, we should give them a few months to make Kuno National Park their home,” the PM said.
A team of 24 wildlife experts including veterinary doctors and three biologists accompanied the species as they made the transcontinental journey in a modified passenger Boeing 747 aircraft.
After undergoing necessary protocols and a mandatory medical check-up at Gwalior, the Cheetahs were flown to the Palpur village in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh in two IAF helicopters, including a Chinook.
Meanwhile, PM Modi arrived at the Gwalior airport from New Delhi around 10:45 am and left for Kuno around 165km, where he released cheetahs into quarantine enclosures around 11:30 am.
Central Ministers including Bhupendra Yadav, Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and forest minister Vijay Shah were also present. On the other hand, a team of forest officials at Kuno, who were trained in Namibia to handle Cheetahs, immediately swung into action.
(Avya Mathur)
