A delegation from India left for Namibia on Thursday to discuss cheetah translocation logistics with the Namibia government, according to people familiar with the development.
The team, with representatives from National Tiger Conservation Authority, environment ministry, Wildlife Institute of India, and the Madhya Pradesh government, will be identifying suitable cheetahs to begin the process of health screening and putting them under quarantine for travel to India. The cheetahs will be translocated eventually to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
“We cannot say how long this process will take. We need to work out the logistics first,” said a senior official of NTCA, who asked not to be named.
“The goal of the project is to establish a viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator and to provide space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts,” a note shared by NTCA said.