Fastest land animals back in India: PM releases 8 cheetahs flown from Namibia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of his birthday released cheetahs brought from Namibia in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.

The special cargo plane carrying eight cheetahs from Namibia landed at the Gwalior airport in Madhya Pradesh early morning on Saturday.

The felines were transferred to Kuno National Park in a helicopter.

The release of wild cheetahs is part of PM Modi's efforts to revitalise and diversify India’s wildlife and its habitat, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Thursday.

The introduction of the fastest land animal in India is being done under Project Cheetah, which is world's first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project, the statement said.

Cheetahs were declared extinct in the country in 1952.

Cheetahs will help in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India. This will help conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation, benefiting the society at large, it said.

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