Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released eight wild Cheetahs, which had become extinct from India, in Kuno National Park. Cheetahs which have been brought from Namibia are being introduced in India under Project Cheetah, which is world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project. Five of the eight Cheetahs are females and three are males. Cheetahs were released at two points in Kuno National Park by PM Modi.
Also at the event, he met with Cheetah Mitras, Cheetah Rehabilitation Management Group members, and students. In an effort to revitalize and diversify India’s wildlife and habitat, the Prime Minister released wild Cheetahs. In 1952, the cheetah was declared extinct in India. India will benefit from the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems through this project. As part of PM Modi’s commitment to environmental protection and wildlife conservation, eco-development and ecotourism activities will also provide enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community.
Cheetahs are being reintroduced in India as part of a series of measures for ensuring sustainability and environment protection in the last eight years that have led to significant accomplishments regarding environment protection and sustainability. As PM Modi spoke on the occasion, he said that India in the 21st century is sending a message to the world that economy and ecology are not in conflict. As an example of how a country can advance economically and protect the environment at the same time, he said that India is a living and breathing example.
In today’s environment and nature discourse, sustainable development is a key term. In India, nature and the environment, its animals and birds, are more than just sustainable and secure; they are the basis of its sensibility and spirituality as well. According to PM Modi, this monumental event has led to India’s nature-loving consciousness being fully awakened. As he congratulated all his countrymen on the historic occasion, he singled out Namibia and its government, whose cooperation made it possible for the cheetahs to return to Indian soil.
For the past seven decades, no meaningful effort has been made to rehabilitate cheetahs in India, even though they went extinct in 1952. In the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, cheetahs have been rehabilitated with a new energy, he expressed elation. The utmost energy was deployed for an area that is not given much political importance, he said, raising everyone’s awareness of the years of hard work that went behind this successful rehabilitation.