Madhya Pradesh, Sept 18th, 2022: Cheetahs were reintroduced in India after seven decades of extinction by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Eight cheetahs, five females and three males were relocated from Namibia in South Africa.
As of now they have been kept in an enclosed area for a quarantine period of one month before being released into the park.
PM Modi on Saturday told the volunteers called ‘Cheetah Mitras’ – villagers and caretakers for the protection of cheetahs at Kuno – to not let any neta(politician), media reporter, or journalist near the cheetahs until they are deemed fit and acclimatized.
“Do you know what your biggest danger or challenge is? It is netas. People like me. You should stop them. Even if I come, you should not let me in. If any relative of mine or anyone else using my name tries to enter, you must say no. The ‘breaking news’ guys will try to come as well. You should say no to everyone until public viewing of cheetahs is allowed”, Modi said to the volunteers.
He was seen happily engaging with the volunteers and further asked them to take their responsibility seriously.
“People think that animals are a threat to humans but it is the other way around. You need to convince the humans, not the animals. Protect them as we have waited for 75 years for this moment”, he said.
Modi also narrated his own experience of protecting the lions in the Gir Forest when he was the CM of Gujarat.
This is the first time that cheetahs are back in our nation after they were declared extinct in 1952 due to hunting and loss of habitat.
