TNI Bureau: More than 100 cheetahs will be brought to India from South Africa in the next 8-10 years.

The Environment Ministry said it has finalized a deal with the South African government to transfer more than 100 cheetahs to India.

The deal was finalized as part of an ambitious project to reintroduce the spotted cats in India.

The initial batch of 12 cheetahs would be flown to India next month, informed the environment ministry.

“The plan is to translocate a further 12 annually for the next eight to 10 years” to help establish a “viable and secure cheetah population,” the ministry said in a statement.

India was once home to the Asiatic cheetah. However, the animal was declared extinct in 1952 after they died due to habitat loss and deaths at the hands of the hunters.

However, the Indian government decided to reintroduce the animals after the Supreme Court in 2020 ruled that African cheetahs, a different subspecies, could be brought into the country at a “carefully chosen location” on an experimental basis.

As part of the process, the government brought eight cheetahs from Namibia last September and werewere released at Kuno National Park, a wildlife sanctuary 320 kilometres (200 miles) south of New Delhi.