South Africa will donate 100 cheetahs to India in a decade, says Ramaphosa

SOUTH African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit that concluded recently, said that his country is willing to send more cheetahs to India, as India was taking care of its feline population.

- YESHI SELI

"We were pleased to donate cheetahs to India as you are a country that takes care of big cats," President Ramaphosa told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that he was in the land of cheetahs.

South Africa had sent 12 cheetahs to India in February this year. This was in addition to the eight big cats that were brought in from Namibia in November 2022.

Out of this, nine cheetahs (including three cubs) that were released in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh have died. There are 15 surviving cheetahs in Kuno, including a female cub. Most of the deaths occurred to bacterial infection, maggots, renal failure, injuries and heat.