India all set to welcome 12 South African cheetahs on February 18

12 cheetahs from South Africa are scheduled to arrive in India on February 18 in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Park. Earlier, eight of these spotted cats were brought from Namibia in 2022.

On February 17, these big cats—seven males and five females—will board a transport aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and travel thousands of miles to their new home from the OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, South Africa.

According to the participant in the project and the expert, the South African cheetahs will first arrive at Gwalior Air Force base in MP on February 18, and then IAF helicopters will transport them some 165 kilometers to KNP in the Sheopur district 30 minutes later.

According to the experts, they will be placed in quarantine bomas (enclosures) within 30 minutes of landing at KNP around 12 p.m.

According to Director Uttam Sharma of the KNP, 10 quarantine bomas have been set up for South African cheetahs. Two pairs of cheetah brothers would be kept in each of these facilities.

He went on to say, "We have completed our preparations to receive the big cats on Saturday."
According to experts, a South African delegation visited KNP earlier in September 2022 to see how the wildlife sanctuary will house the fastest land animals in the world.

India and South Africa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last month to transfer the mammals. These large cats have been given to India by South Africa. However, before any cheetahs are transferred, India must pay USD 3,000 to the African nation for their capture.

Also read : South Africa signs deal with India to transfer dozens of Cheetahs: Reports