NEW DELHI: Eight Namibian cheetahs arrived in India Saturday, decades after their local extinction, in an ambitious project to reintroduce the big cats that has divided experts on its chances for success.

Officials say the project is the world’s first intercontinental relocation of cheetahs, the fastest land animal.

The five females and three males were moved flown from a game park north of the Namibian capital Windhoek aboard a chartered Boeing 747 dubbed “Cat plane” for an 11-hour flight.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the release at Kuno National Park, a wildlife sanctuary 320 kilometres (200 miles) south of New Delhi selected for its abundant prey and grasslands.

Each of the animals have been fitted with a satellite collar to monitor their movements. They will initially be kept in a quarantine enclosure for about a month before being released in the open forest areas of the park.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2022