India welcomes 12 cheetahs from South Africa

NEW DELHI (AP) — India has welcomed 12 cheetahs from South Africa that will join eight others it received from Namibia last year as part of an ambitious drive to reintroduce the big cats in the country after 70 years. An aircraft carrying the cheetahs landed at Gwalior Air Force base on Saturday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. The cats will then be flown in helicopters to Kuno National Park in India’s Madhya Pradesh state, where they will be released into quarantine enclosures. Cheetah populations in most countries are declining. South Africa, where the cats are running out of space, is an exception. The eight cheetahs flown from Namibia were released in Kuno National Park in central India in September.