Lobbying fails, South Africa okays MoU to send to India 12 cheetahs

BHOPAL: Ending months of suspense, South African minister for forestry, fisheries and environment Barbara Creecy has approved an MoU with India for Project Cheetah, and the papers are now with President Cyril Ramaphosa, sources told TOI.

With this, 12 more cheetahs will be translocated to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh to join the eight brought from Namibia in September. These eight cheetahs are now in hunting enclosures as a prelude to full release in the wild.

It was in July 2022 that a request was made to South Africa to send 12 cheetahs as part of India’s first reintroduction attempt at Kuno. However, the MoU got delayed repeatedly following “warnings and negative reports” by a lobby of self-styled conservationists in both countries, said sources.


Initially, the shipment of cheetahs from South Africa was to coincide with those from Namibia. Of 12 South Africa cheetahs picked up for Kuno, nine are in quarantinein Rooiberg in Limpopo province and the rest in Phinda, KwaZulu-Natal province.

While the current carrying capacity at Kuno is of 21 cheetahs, once expanded, it can hold about 36, said sources.