Eight radio-collared African cheetahs step out on to the grassland of Kuno National Park in central India, their final destination after a 5,000-mile (8,000 km) journey from Namibia that has drawn criticism from some conservationists.
The arrival of the big cats – the fastest land animal on Earth – coincides with the 72nd birthday of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who released the the first cat into the park on Saturday. It is the culmination of a 13-year effort to restore a species which vanished from India some 70 years ago.
The cheetahs – five females and three males – arrived after a two-day airplane and helicopter journey from the African savannah, and are expected to spend two to three months in a 6-square-km (2-square-mile) enclosure inside the park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Another 12 cheetahs are expected to join the fledgling Indian population next month from South Africa. And as India gathers more funding for the 910 million rupee ($11.4 million) project, largely financed by the state-owned Indian Oil, it hopes to eventually grow the population to around 40 cats.