From Namibia to India: How the cheetahs underwent the long journey

It's the first known transcontinental transport of the cheetah in modern times. Eight cheetahs arrived in India by air from Namibia on Saturday morning as part of the programme to reintroduce the magnificent cat in India seven decades after it went extinct here.

Here is how their long journey happened.

• The eight wild cheetahs - five females and three males, aged between two and five and a half - were moved by road from a game park north of the Namibian capital Windhoek to board a chartered Boeing 747-400 "Cat plane" on Friday for an 11-hour overnight flight to India.

• They were brought in a customised Boeing 747-400 , chosen because of the size and because it does not have to refuel along the way for the intercontinental hop. The cheetahs were housed in special wooden crates.

• They were mildly sedated. The cheetahs remained without food during the journey and will be given something to eat once they are released in the enclosures.

• The plane landed at the Gwalior airbase shortly before 8am on Saturday, and the animals were flown from Gwalior to Kuno in Sheopur district, 165 km away, in an Air Force helicopter. This part of the journey lasted about 20-25 minutes.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is celebrating his birthday, released three of the cheetahs in quarantine enclosures of the Kuno National Park by operating a lever. The remaining animals were to be released by others. The animals are fitted with a radio collar.

• The 344-square-kilometre Kuno National Park was selected as a home because of its abundant prey and grasslands. It lies on the northern side of Vindhyachal mountains

• Some critics have warned that the Namibian cheetahs may struggle to adapt to the Indian habitat and may clash with the significant number of leopards already present, but other experts point out that cheetahs are adaptable animals.