Kuno National Park authorities released 12 cheetahs into the wild in India's Madhya Pradesh state after they were ferried from South Africa to Gwalior on Saturday.
The IAF C-17 Globemaster plane brought the 12 cheetahs from Johannesburg before the felines were shifted to the wildlife sanctuary in chinook helicopters.
Principal chief conservator Jasbir Singh Chauhan confirmed the news to reporters before revealing that the big cats will be kept in quarantined enclosures for the next few days.
"Ten quarantine enclosures have been prepared to keep 12 cheetahs. Of these, eight are new enclosures and two are old. Apart from this, two isolation wards have also been prepared. Shades have been made in all the quarantine bomas due to increase in temperature," Chauhan said.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh state chief Shivraj Singh Chouhan credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing Cheetahs to India.
"Today, the number of cheetahs is going to increase in Kuno National Park. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the bottom of my heart, this is his vision. 12 cheetahs will be released in Kuno and their number will increase to 20. The cheetahs are completely healthy," Chouhan told media while releasing the animals into the forest.
Cheetahs became extinct in India in 1952 due to large-scale hunting and poaching, besides shrinking natural habitat in the nation.
But seven decades after they became extinct, the first batch of eight cheetahs arrived in India from Namibia in September 2022.