Special flight with cheetahs to touch down at Gwalior, not Jaipur

New Delhi, Sep 16: There is a change in plan for Cheetah's arrival in India. The big cats will now land in Gwalior and not in Jaipur as reported earlier.

"A special charter Cargo flight of Cheetahs coming from Namibia will now land in Gwalior, earlier it was supposed to land in Jaipur on September 17 then from a helicopter from Gwalior brought to KUNO National Park Sheopur," said SP Yadav, Project Cheetah chief.

Prime Minister will release Cheetahs in Kuno National Park at around 10.45 am.

The release of wild Cheetahs by the Prime Minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify India's wildlife and its habitat.

Cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952. The Cheetahs that would be released are from Namibia and have been brought under an MoU signed earlier this year.

The introduction of Cheetah in India is being done under Project Cheetah, which is world's first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.

Cheetahs will help in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India. This will help conserve biodiversity and enhance the ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation, benefiting the society at large.

This effort, in line with the Prime Minister's commitment towards environment protection and wildlife conservation, will also lead to enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community through eco-development and ecotourism activities.