President Droupadi Murmu
NEW DELHI: India’s plan to translocate 8-10 cheetahs from Botswana may get an official stamp during President Droupadi Murmu’s state visit to the African country. Riding on the success of previous translocation exercises from Namibia and South Africa, the fresh batch is most likely to arrive in Dec or Jan next year, depending on the timeline suggested by Botswana, reports Vishwa Mohan. Though both sides have been in talks for over six months, Murmu’s visit will give fresh impetus to the exercise under Project Cheetah, with the possibility of an announcement in her presence.8-10 cheetahs will arrive from Kenya next year Murmu departed on Saturday for her visit to Angola and Botswana. This is the first-ever state visit by an Indian head of state to these nations. She will be in Botswana from November 11 to 13. “An exact number and date for translocation will be decided during the subsequent discussion,” said an official. Besides Botswana, the govt has been discussing the issue with two other African countries: Kenya and Namibia. A batch of 8-10 cheetahs will be translocated from Kenya next year, whereas Namibia, which had sent the first batch of eight to India in Sept 2022, has been kept in the loop for further strengthening India’s population of the famed big cat.
