Five months after it welcomed eight cheetahs from Namibia, the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh is once again set to host big cats, this time from South Africa.
On Saturday around 10 am, the Indian Air Force's (IAF) C-17 Globemaster Cargo plane will reach India after a 10-hour-long journey from O R Tambo International Airport Johannesburg. The cargo plane left Ghaziabad Hindon Airport Thursday at 6.00 am and reached there at local time at 12:30 pm.
After the arrival of cheetahs at Gwalior, there will be customs clearance and other formalities as per international convention. After that, the cats will be loaded into an IAF MI-17 helicopter that will take them to Kuno National Park. A helipad is being set up.
The big cats will be flown to India as part of an MoU signed between the two countries in connection with the re-introduction of cheetahs in India to establish a viable cheetah population.
Cheetah Project Chief of India SP Yadav told ANI that besides the 11 IAF crew members, the cargo plane has senior officials of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, a veterinary doctor and a customs officer.
Besides them, cheetah experts from South Africa will also accompany the team to Gwalior. "The cheetahs coming from two different reserves are kept in crates made according to international standards. Our experience of bringing cheetahs from Namibia helped a lot, that’s why the whole exercise is going very smoothly," Yadav added.
The 12 cheetahs that are being brought here have been selected on a technical basis. "All of them have been fitted with radio collars and were kept for 30 days of quarantine. We can track them through satellite. The proper vaccination is already done," he added.
Kuno set for arrival
All arrangements are in place at the Kuno National Park to welcome the big cats. "Close cameras have been installed and the big cats have been fitted with radio collars for live tracking. The quarantine enclosure we have made this time is better than the previous one," SP Yadav added.
Like the ones from Namibia, the cheetahs from South Africa too will be quarantined for a month before being released out to the enclosure. According to Yadav, their health will be tested before quarantined for a month.
The park has also made 10 quarantine boomers for the purpose. Two Cheetahs each will stay in two enclosures and the rest of the other cheetahs will be kept in separate quarantine boomers.
On the differences between Namibian Cheetah and South African Cheetah, Yadav told ANI that there is no difference in species.
