South Africa concludes deal to send cheetahs to India

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - South Africa reached a deal with India to reintroduce cheetahs to the South Asian country and will be sending a dozen annually for a decade, officials from the African nation have said.

"An initial batch of 12 cheetahs is scheduled to be flown from South Africa to India in February 2023," the Department of Environment said on Thursday in a statement.

The spotted cats will join eight others introduced to India from Namibia last year.

South Africa said it would send a further 12 cheetahs annually to India for the next eight to 10 years.

The Department of Environment said it had received a request from New Delhi to help restore cheetah populations in the country, an issue considered a priority for India, where the felines went extinct over the last century due to overhunting and habitat loss.