Great news! PM Modi on release of 2 Cheetahs to larger enclosure

New Delhi, Nov 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today informed that after the mandatory quarantine, 2 cheetahs have been released to a bigger enclosure for further adaptation to the Kuno habitat. The prime minister further said that he was glad to know that all cheetahs are healthy, active and adjusting well.

"Great news! Am told that after the mandatory quarantine, 2 cheetahs have been released to a bigger enclosure for further adaptation to the Kuno habitat. Others will be released soon. I'm also glad to know that all cheetahs are healthy, active and adjusting well," PM Modi wrote on Twitter.

Two Cheetahs were on Saturday released into an acclimatisation enclosure from the quarantine area where they were kept since translocated from Namibia in mid-September.

The remaining six cheetahs will also be released in the (acclimatisation enclosure) in a phased manner.

The larger enclosure is an area of more than five square km.

The eight cheetahs - five females and three males in the 30-66 month age group- were released in the dedicated quarantine zones at KNP on September 17 at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, heralding the return of the big cats to India 70 years after they were declared extinct in the country.

As per rules, wild animals must be kept in quarantine for a month to check the spread of any infection before and after their translocation to another country.

Since their release on September 17, the eight cheetahs were housed in six 'bomas' (enclosures), two of which are 50 metres x 30 metres while the rest four measured 25 square metres in area. They were fed buffalo meat.

In India, Cheetah was declared extinct in 1952.