Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended greetings on International Cheetah Day, calling the cheetah “one of the most remarkable creatures” on the planet. In a post shared on X, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting the species and strengthening India’s biodiversity. He also posted photographs of the animal to mark the occasion.
PM Modi stated that Project Cheetah, launched three years ago, was designed not only to safeguard the big cat but also to restore the ecosystem it needs to survive. He described the initiative as an effort to revive India’s lost ecological heritage, nearly seven decades after cheetahs became extinct in the country due to widespread hunting.
Launched in 2022, Project Cheetah is one of India’s most ambitious wildlife conservation efforts. Under the programme, cheetahs were translocated from Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The initiative aims to rebuild a lost ecological niche and promote long-term grassland conservation.
To commemorate International Cheetah Day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is scheduled to release three cheetahs currently kept in enclosures at Kuno into the wild, officials said. The project is jointly implemented by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, and the Wildlife Institute of India.