By Amit Kumar
New Delhi [India], September 9 (ANI): To create awareness among children, the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and its regional centres are organizing an offline programme on the “Reintroduction of Cheetah in India” through extensive physical interaction with students in different parts of the country during the campaign from September 9 to 12.
As per sources of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the purpose of the introduction is to create curiosity and awareness among the children about this important extinct species which will be reintroduced in India.
“During this week, a long campaign will be organised where the resource persons from the museum will interact with more than 15,000 students across the country,” an official in the Ministry told ANI.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the “Reintroduction of the Cheetah” project at the Kuno National Park in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh on September 17.
PM Modi will also release cheetahs being brought from Africa into the state’s forests. The big cat species will be reintroduced in India after 70 years since being declared extinct in 1952.
National Museum of Natural History is a subordinate office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with its headquarters at New Delhi and its regional centres at Mysore, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal and Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan.
Under the ambitious project of the Indian government – Project Cheetah – the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetah is being undertaken as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.
Project Cheetah is an ambitious project undertaken by the government which aims to re-establish the species in its historical range in the country.
India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures ‘Project Tiger’ which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem.
The Project Elephant was launched in the year of 1992 to protect and conserve the Asian elephants in India. Similarly, many successful reintroduction programs have been carried out in India.
In continuation of this, the reintroduction of Cheetah which we have lost recently is one step ahead and a milestone in the history of wildlife conservation in India. (ANI)