From Namibia with Love: The cheetahs are all set for their journey to India
Eight cheetahs are all ready to embark on their journey from Namibia to India. They will be put on a special cargo plane and on 17 September will be released by Narendra Modi in the Kuno-Palpur National Park
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The African cheetahs, five females and three males, will be brought to India in a chartered cargo flight which will take off from Namibia's capital Windhoek on 16 September. After a 10-hour flight, the wild cats will land in Jaipur on Saturday morning. News18
Doctors draw blood from one of the eight cheetahs. The wild cats will be accompanied by three veterinarians from India, Namibia and South Africa. News18
Veterinarians treat the cheetahs before sending them off to India. After landing in Jaipur, the wild cats have to travel for another 40 minutes in a helicopter. A temporary helipad has been constructed at the Kuno-Palpur National Park in Madhya Pradesh. News18
A cheetah rests before its long journey to India from Namibia. On 17 September, the eight cheetahs will be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. News18
Among the five female cheetahs, two are best friends. According to media reports, one of them was discovered in late 2017 in Namibia. The other cheetah was found a year later in the north-western part of Namibia. As per PTI, both these cheetahs soon developed a close bond. News18
A cheetah getting treated at a veterinarian centre in Namibia. Twenty four out of 25 villages around the vicinity of the national park have been resettled to make way for the cheetahs. Along with this, feral dogs in the region have been vaccinated to ensure that they do not spread any diseases to the wild cats. News18
The main gate of Kuno-Palpur National Park is all decorated to welcome the eight cheetahs. The national park is 740 sq km wide and the wild cats will roam free in a 5,000 sq km area around it. News18
For at least a month, the cheetahs will be kept in large quarantine enclosures to monitor whether they are carrying any disease. During this time, the cheetahs will also adapt to the new environment. News18
Two of the three male cheetahs are actually siblings who were first discovered in 2021 by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). They had been residing on the CCF's 58,000 hectares of the private reserve near Otjiwarongo. News18