Context :- During President Droupadi Murmu’s state visit to Botswana, the two nations formally announced an agreement for the translocation of eight cheetahs to India.
Project Cheetah
Project Cheetah is India’s initiative to reintroduce the cheetah, a species declared extinct in the country in 1952. This is the world’s first inter-continental wild carnivore translocation.
- Objective: To restore ecological balance and grassland biodiversity.
- Implementation: Cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa are being released in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
- Extinction : The species was originally extirpated due to hunting and habitat loss.
- Significance: The project seeks to restore grassland ecosystems, mirroring Project Tiger’s success with forests, and utilizes community engagement (“cheetah mitras”) to mitigate human-wildlife conflict
Botswana: Key Profile
About : Botswana is a landlocked republic in Southern Africa with its capital at Gaborone. It is bordered by Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Key Features:
- Geography: The nation is traversed by the Tropic ofCapricorn. The Kalahari Desert covers over 70% of its landmass. Key water bodies include the Okavango Delta (the world’s largest inland delta) and the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers.
- Biodiversity: Botswana’s habitat is predominantly savanna grassland, sustaining the world’s largest concentration of African elephants.
- Economy: The country is a leading global diamond producer
