Indian wildlife team to visit African Savannah in July to train in relocating cheetah to MP's Kuno National Park

The team is likely to be comprised of members from the Wildlife Institute of India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, doctors and veterinarian ​from the Kuna national park.

Delayed by over a decade, the government's plans to reintroduce cheetah into the Indian wildlife is likely to gain pace as an Indian team heads to African Savannah for the first set of basic training in July. The team will learn about handling the cheetah population set to be relocated to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park by the end of the year. Speaking to IndiaToday.in, Prakash Kumar Verma, district forest officer, Kuno National Park, said that the training had been delayed due to the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. "The India team is likely to go to Africa to learn about handling, breeding, rehabilitation, medical treatment and conservation of the animal once the Covid-led situation normalises and the lockdown is further eased by next month," Verma said. The team is likely to be comprised of members from the Wildlife Institute of India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, doctors and veterinarian from the Kuna national park along with the staff that will take care of the cheetahs once they are relocated to the sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.