12 cheetahs from South Africa may arrive in February

12 cheetahs from South Africa may arrive in February

Subject : Environment

Section : Species in news

Context:

• Speculations are running rife about the arrival of 12 more cheetahs to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, this time from South Africa.

Details:

• Three of the 12 cheetahs have been housed in the Phinda quarantine boma (small enclosure) in KwaZulu-Natal province and nine others have been kept in the Rooiberg quarantine boma in Limpopo Province.

Metapopulation programme:

• The Metapopulation Initiative is a wildlife conservation programme by the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
• The EWT started the Cheetah Metapopulation Program in 2011.
• Goal: To manage the southern African cheetah in a way that maximizes their genetic diversity and range expansion.