12 cheetahs from South Africa arrive at Kuno National Park

Sheopur (MP): Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters carrying 12 cheetahs from South Africa landed at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Saturday.

These felines were flown into Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh from South Africa in an IAF plane around 10 am, from where they were shifted to the KNP. The helicopters carrying them arrived at the KNP around noon.

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

These animals had embarked on a journey to their new home thousands of miles away aboard an IAF transport aircraft from the O R Tambo International Airport, Gauteng in South Africa shortly before midnight, a project participant and expert told PTI.

They will now be released into quarantine bomas by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister for Environment and Forests Bhupender Yadav.

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 programme.