12 new African cheetahs released into Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh

• CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union minister Bhupender Yadav released 12 South African Cheetahs into the Kuno National Park
• The cheetahs from South Africa - seven males and five females - comprise the second set of big cats coming to the KNP
• First set of eight from Namibia having been released on September 17 last year

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union minister Bhupender Yadav released 12 South African Cheetahs into the Kuno National Park on Saturday at noon. Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar are also present on the occasion.

The cheetahs from South Africa were flown into Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning, from where they were taken to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district for release into quarantine enclosures. The Indian Air Force (IAF) plane carrying the felines landed at the Gwalior airbase around 10 am.

These cheetahs - seven males and five females - comprise the second set of big cats coming to the KNP, the first set of eight from Namibia having been released on September 17 last year at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The intercontinental translocation of these fastest land animals - first from Namibia and now from South Africa - is part of the Indian government's ambitious cheetah reintroduction program.