Extinct for 70 years in India, the first cheetahs reintroduced in the country were en route Friday from Namibia from where they took off for an 11-hour journey by plane, officials and veterinarians said.

A donation from the Namibian government, eight cats (five girls and three boys) were installed in the afternoon on a specially chartered cargo ship at the airport in the Namibian capital Windhoek, nicknamed “plane cat” (cat plane), and decorated with a cat. head in the cabin.

After a period of quarantine, the animals known for their speed and coveted spotted fur will begin an acclimatization phase in their new habitat, the Ancient National Park, located 320 km south of Delhi.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, had to release the animals himself upon their arrival at this more than 748 km2 protected park, which was chosen for them due to its abundance of prey and pastures.

“This is historic, a world first,” India’s High Commissioner to Namibia Prashant Agrawal told AFP.

India was once home to the Asian cheetah but the species was declared extinct there in 1952. Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo reportedly killed the last three specimens in the late 1940s.

The loss of the cheetah in India is mainly due to poachers but also the loss of their habitat.

Indian authorities have sought to import these eight African cheetahs, a distinct species from Asia, since the Supreme Court allowed in 2020 their introduction, experimentally, at “carefully defined sites”.

But some specialists believe they could have difficulty adapting to their new environment, which is also inhabited by many leopards, and fear inter-species conflict.

“Cheetahs are very adaptable and I think they will adjust well,” Dr Laurie Marker, founder of the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), told AFP, adding that the project was in the works for more than ten years.

Animals will be equipped with satellite collars.

India also hopes to strike a deal with South Africa to import other specimens.

Classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on its red list of threatened species, the world’s cheetah population numbers less than 7,000 individuals, most of whom live in the African savanna.