Madhya Pradesh: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan releases 12 cheetahs in Kuno National Park

The 12 cheetahs being relocated to India under Project Cheetah. Pic/Defence PRO

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to conserve the environment is showing a path to the world.

After releasing 12 cheetahs, imported from South Africa, in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, CM said, "Madhya Pradesh has got a gift on Mahashivratri. I thank PM Modi from the bottom of my heart, it is his vision. Twelve Cheetahs will be rehabilitated to Kuno and the total number will become 20. The Cheetahs that had come earlier have now adapted to the situation very well."

He said that the vision of PM Modi is to protect the environment and wildlife which is showing a path to the world. The Cheetah project is one example. "I want to congratulate the entire team for bringing the Cheetahs safely," he added.

Earlier today, Indian Air Force's Mi-17 helicopters carrying the second batch of 12 Cheetah landed at their destination.

The big cats made their journey in Indian Air Force's (IAF) C-17 Globemaster cargo plane.

Also Read: IN PHOTOS: How 12 cheetahs were flown from South Africa to India

The aircraft after a 10-hour long flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, landed at Air Force Station Gwalior today.

Last year in September, eight cheetahs from Namibia were flown into India.

The cheetahs are being brought to India as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction project on the basis of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the South African and the Indian governments.

The MoU facilitates cooperation between the two countries to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India; promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation. This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture and translocation of wildlife and community participation in conservation in the two countries.

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