A Cheetah prowls in the Maasai Mara
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Cheetahs will roam free in India’s forests for the first time in 70 years.
The eight big cats from Namibia will make their home in the state of Madhya Pradesh at Kuno-Palpur National Park in August.
Only 7.000 cheetahs are left in the wild worldwide.
The species was declared officially extinct in India in 1952 due to hunting, the loss of habitat and the lack of food.
The country have made efforts to try and revive the population in India from the 1950s.
Now the return of the cheetahs coincides with India celebrating 75 years of independence.
India’s environment minister Bhupender Yadav said in a social media post: “Completing 75 glorious years of independence with restoring the fastest terrestrial flagship species, the cheetah, in India, will rekindle the ecological dynamics of the landscape.
“Cheetah reintroduction would also greatly enhance local community livelihoods through eco-tourism prospects in the long term.”
The environment minister added: “The main goal of the cheetah reintroduction project is to establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator.”
Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land animal who can run up to 70 miles (113km) an hour.
The Asiatic Cheetah is now only known to survive in Iran.
