The 'African Cheetah Introduction Project in India' was conceived in 2009 under the Congress-led UPA regime, with Jairam Ramesh as Union Environment and Forests Minister, but it failed to take off for over a decade. The cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952. The country's last cheetah died in 1947 in present day Korea district of Chhattisgarh, which was once part of MP. The plan is to introduce 50 cheetahs over the next five years, possibly 10 each year, with some 10-12 big cats being brought in from Namibia and South Africa as "founder stock" during the first year, officials explained. They are scheduled to return by February 25," Rajnish Singh, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) with MP Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), told PTI.Īlso read: India to spend nearly Rs 40 crore to bring back cheetahs It left for Namibia on February 17 to discuss issues like relocation logistics etc.
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"The delegation includes officials of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Government of India and Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, had gone extinct in India some 70 years ago and the plans to reintroduce the majestic big cat into the wild here again has been in the works for over a decade now, they added. A delegation from India, which includes Madhya Pradesh forest department personnel, has reached Namibia in southern Africa in connection with a plan to reintroduce the cheetah in the country in Kuno National Park, officials said on Saturday.