It was last year in September 2022 when eight large cats were released into a wildlife park by Indian Prime Minister Modi, just in time for  his 72nd birthday. With grasslands and plenty of prey,  the Cheetahs found a home at the Kuno National Park in Central Madhya Pradesh.
India's Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate and Labor and Employment Bhupendra Yadav tweeted last week, "I congratulate the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back cheetahs to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past".
While Asiatic Cheetahs were officially declared as extinct in 1952, it was back in 2020 when India's Supreme Court ruled that African large cats could be introduced into specific areas as an experimental safeguard. Cheetahs faced extinction in the Asian subcontinent due to habitat loss as well as mass hunting.