’Will take good care of them’: Murmu after India, Botswana declare Cheetah translocation pact

India and Botswana on Wednesday formally declared the plan to translocate eight Cheetahs from the African nation during the state visit of President Droupadi Murmu.

The President, while thanking her counterpart President Duma Gideon Boko and the people of one of the world’s largest diamond producer countries for the gesture, assured that “we will take good care of them (Cheetahs).” Boko said his country will symbolically hand over the big cats to “her excellency (Murmu)” on Thursday.

The two heads of state will preside over an event where eight captured Cheetahs will be released into a quarantine facility at the Mokolodi nature reserve, marking the symbolic handing over of the hunting cats to India by Botswana as part of Project Cheetah and under a mutual initiative for wildlife conservation.

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The Cheetahs have been brought to the nature reserve, 10 kms south of Gaborone, from the Ghanzi town located in the Kalahari desert.

Botswana is a landlocked nation whose 70 per cent landmass is covered by the Kalahari desert.

“It gives me special pleasure to note that Botswana is to reintroduce Cheetahs into India under Project Cheetah which is a unique wildlife conservation initiative of the government of India,” Murmu said.

“I am thankful to the President and people of Botswana for sending their Cheetahs to India. We will take good care of them,” she said during a press briefing held at the President’s office here.

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Murmu arrived for a three-day state visit to the country on Tuesday. This is the first visit by an Indian President to the country located in southern Africa.

President Boko added that, as part of a biodiversity cooperation, the move to donate the Cheetahs will work to “assist regeneration” of the population of the big cat in India.

The two leaders made the comments following delegation level talks held between the two sides.

On September 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia into a special enclosure at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, marking the world’s first intercontinental relocation of a large wild carnivore species.

India later imported 12 more cheetahs from South Africa in February 2023.

Three years into the ambitious revival programme, the country now has 27 cheetahs, including 16 born on Indian soil. Of them, 24 are at Kuno and three are at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS), located on the boundary of Mandsaur and Neemuch districts in Madhya Pradesh.

Nineteen cheetahs - nine imported adults and 10 cubs born in India - have died from various causes since the project began, while 26 cubs have been born in Kuno so far. After importing 20 animals from Africa, India currently has a net gain of seven cheetahs over the initial number.

The two presidents also oversaw the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the health sector between the senior officials of the two sides.

Murmu said her travel to Botswana was an “important milestone in our relations.” “Our development partnership is based on the ideals of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayaas’ (together with everyone’s growth, trust and efforts), she said, adding the visit will strengthen the “multi-faceted” ties between the two nations. Boko said the two sides signed another MoU on cooperation in the health sector as India is one of the “foremost” manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, especially of generic drugs.

This cooperation will also be in the pharmacopeia domain so that quality medicines are facilitated in his country, an area of “acute problem” for Botswana, he said.

Boko said, “We will strengthen our relationship and converge in areas of mutual concern.” He also lauded India’s cooperation in “enhancing” skills of the local Botswanan people.

Boko called the visit of Murmu as a “historic,” “significant” and “remarkable” event as it came 60 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Your visit comes at the most opportune time. We will work with India to strengthen initiatives related to transformation of Botswana’s economy and revival of our country,” he added.