Botswana to Hand Over Eight Cheetahs to India under Project Cheetah Today
Botswana will handover Cheetahs for translocation to India under Project Cheetah today. This was announced during the joint press briefing at the end of bilateral talks between President Droupadi Murmu and her Botswana counterpart Duma Boko yesterday.
Presidents of India and Botswana will witness the release of the captured cheetahs into a quarantine facility near Gaborone. The event will mark a symbolic donation of cheetahs to India by Botswana. The handover signifies the start of a new chapter in bilateral cooperation in wildlife conservation between the two countries. The cheetahs will remain in the quarantine facility for some time, before being translocated to India. Botswana will be donating eight (8) cheetahs to India to assist in the regeneration of the cheetah population in India.
President Duma Boko had said that this agreement demonstrates the spirit of shared environmental goals and promotion of biodiversity. Thanking Botswana for their support, President Murmu had said that India will take good care of the big cats.
Project Cheetah is a unique initiative aimed at reintroducing cheetahs to India, decades after their extinction. In September 2022, eight cheetahs from Namibia were translocated to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, followed by twelve cheetahs from South Africa next year. The majority of these cheetahs have adapted well to their new environment, exhibiting natural behaviours and notably, also reproducing.
Following the bilateral talks between the two leaders yesterday, an MoU on healthcare and pharmaceuticals was signed. India had also announced the supply of ARV medicines to Botswana to support its HIV treatment efforts. President Murmu later addressed the Parliamentarians of Botswana and visited Diamond Trading Company Botswana. In the evening, a Banquet Dinner was hosted by the President of Botswana for President Murmu.
Today, President Murmu is also scheduled to interact with the members of the Indian community in Botswana before concluding her visit.
