MP CM Yadav extends greetings on International Cheetah Day

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], December 4 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has expressed pleasure that the state has been an ideal place in the country for wildlife and extended greetings to everyone on the occasion of International Cheetah Day.

CM Yadav also acknowledged that with the inspiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a campaign began to bring Cheetahs from other continents and settle them here and announced to release two cheetahs in the open wild on the occasion.

“I am happy that Madhya Pradesh is an ideal place in the country for wildlife. It is the reason that India has the highest number of tigers across the globe and Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers in India. In the last two days, we have started giving approval for Tiger Reserve Park. Very soon Madhav Tiger Park is going to get approval,” CM Yadav said.

He further said, “Cheetah which has gone extinct from Asia for years, with the inspiration of Prime Minister Modi, we have started a campaign to bring Cheetahs from other continents and settle them here. I am satisfied that the Cheetah family is flourishing in Madhya Pradesh and their next generation is growing here. In such a situation, I will release two cheetahs in the open wild today.”

Additionally, the Chief Minister hoped that the experiment to rehabilitate Cheetah would move forward and other states would also become a part of it in coming days as well.

“I hope that this experiment will move forward and we will make other states a part of this experiment as well. I want to congratulate everyone on Cheetah Day. We hope that our self-affection for wild animals should remain. It is the heritage of Madhya Pradesh and the heritage of the country. We should keep it safe,” he added.

Besides, in a post on X, CM Yadav wrote, “Warm regards to the citizens of ‘Cheetah State’ Madhya Pradesh on International Cheetah Day. It is quite pleasant to see the cheetahs, which were once extinct from India, in Madhya Pradesh today. Cheetahs are giving new impetus to the tourism of the state today.”

“The family of cheetahs continues to grow in the heart of the country. Our government is continuously working for the promotion of cheetahs and for the conservation of the ecosystem,” he added.

Cheetahs in India went extinct long back in 1952 due to too much reckless hunting activities. The Phase-1 of Project Cheetah started in 2022, to restore the population of cheetahs, which were declared extinct in the country in 1952. It involved the translocation of cheetahs from South Africa and Namibia to Kuno National Park.

The project was implemented by the NTCA in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Under Phase-2 of the Project India is considering sourcing cheetahs from Kenya due to similar habitats.Cheetahs will be translocated to Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.