Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release three of eight cheetahs being brought from Namibia into Kuno-Palpur National Park (KPNP) in the state of Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday, in an attempt to revitalize and diversify India's wildlife.
A one-minute video clip shared by ANI news agency, and now doing the rounds on Twitter, gives viewers their first sight of two of the three big wild cats getting set for the first phase of relocation. The trio, a female cheetah and her two brothers who hunt together, are the first of eight big cats that will be part of the reintroduction project.
SP Yadav, the chief of Project Cheetah, told ANI on Friday that India has been getting Kuno National park ready for the reintroduction of cheetahs for several years.
"The Prime Minister [Modi] will release three cheetahs in quarantine enclosures. The remainder will be released into their own separate quarantine enclosures," Yadav announced.
Wildlife experts have placed satellite radio collars on each cheetah to get geolocation updates.
"Each cheetah will also be given a dedicated team which will monitor it, patrol it, and update us with any of its movements," Yadav said.