Symbolic handover of 8 cheetahs to Prez Murmu at Botswana's nature reserve

Gaborone (Botswana), Nov 13 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday was symbolically handed over eight cheetahs by her Botswana counterpart Duma Gideon Boko at a nature reserve near here on the last day of her state visit.

The two heads of state reached the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, about 10 kms south of capital Gaborone, earlier in the morning and took a safari vehicle to witness the event of two captured big cats being released into a quarantine pen.

Wildlife officials from India and Botswana also briefed Murmu and Boko about the procedure.

Officials said all the eight cheetahs are in the reserve and only two were released for quarantine in the presence of the heads of state as a symbolic gesture of handing over them to India by Botswana.

The cheetahs, a mix of adult and sub-adult males and females, have been brought to the nature reserve from the Ghanzi town located in the Kalahari desert, that forms 70 per cent of the landmass of this southern Africa located country.

The Mokolodi reserve, spread over 3,700 hectares, is a private not-for-profit game reserve that was created in 1994. It is inhabited by rhinoceros, giraffes and a variety of indigenous African bird and reptile species, some of which are rare and vulnerable to the threat of extinction, as per official information.

All eight cheetahs are expected to reach India in the next few weeks after completion of their quarantine process here.

Murmu is on a three-day state visit to Botswana which concludes on Thursday.

The translocation of the cheetahs from Botswana to India as part of the Project Cheetah was announced by the two presidents on Wednesday during a press briefing after holding delegation level talks at Boko's office here.

Murmu thanked the African nation for the endeavour in wildlife conservation and assured that India will take “good care” of the cheetahs.

Boko said his country's move to donate the cheetahs will assist regeneration of the population of the big cat in India.

India's cheetah re-introduction story began on September 17, 2022 when 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. PTI NES NPK NPK