Cheetahs return to India after becoming extinct in 1952

Eight Namibian cheetahs were released into their enclosure at Kuno National Park as part of a project to reintroduce the big cats to the South Asian nation

Critics have warned the creatures, which made the journey in a chartered Boeing 747, may struggle to adapt to the Indian habitat

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A Namibian cheetah inside India’s Kuno National Park on Saturday. Photo: India’s Press Information Bureau/Reuters

Published: 3:33pm, 17 Sep 2022Updated: 4:06pm, 17 Sep 2022

Eight Namibian cheetahs arrived in India Saturday, decades after their local extinction, in an ambitious project to reintroduce the big cats that has divided experts on its chances for success.

Officials say the project is the world’s first intercontinental relocation of cheetahs, the planet’s fastest land animal.

The five females and three males were moved flown from a game park north of the Namibian capital Windhoek aboard a chartered Boeing 747 dubbed “Cat plane” for an 11-hour flight.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the release at Kuno National Park, a wildlife sanctuary 320km south of New Delhi selected for its abundant prey and grasslands.

“Today the cheetah has returned to the soil of India,” Modi said in a video address after their arrival, which coincided with the leader’s 72nd birthday.

“The nature loving consciousness of India has also awakened with full force,” he added. “We must not allow our efforts to fail.”

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