The “pardesi” Cheetahs that were translocated to India amid much fanfare finally have been christened their Indian names.
These are the Cheetahs that were brought to the Kuno National Park from Namibia and South Africa last year. The Indian names are based on many suggestions received after a competition was held.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the winners and hoped that the Cheetahs continue to remain happy as well as healthy.
On 25th September 2022, during his Mann Ki Baat programme, PM Modi asked people to suggest names for cheetahs reintroduced from Namibia and South Africa.
Now, Bhupender Yadav, Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, has shared the new names of cheetahs and the winners.
Asha, the female cheetah brought from Namibia, has been named Aasha (hope), whereas, Savannah has been named Nabha, Dhatri is the new name for Tbilisi, while Siyaya has been named Jwala.
One of the male cheetahs Oban has been named “Pawan” by the PM, while Elton has been named Gaurav and Freddy has now been named Shaurya.
Cheetah ‘Oban’ was named by PM Modi as “Pawan”
The naming contest was held with the intention to popularize and sensitize the general public about Project Cheetah. The competition was organized on GoI’s platform mygov.in from 26th September to 31st October 2022. The entries were scrutinized by a selection committee and based on the significance and relevance of the suggested names for their conservation and cultural value the new names were selected.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change congratulates the winners of the competition who suggested new names for Namibian and South African cheetahs. Mr Yadav said that 11,565 people had participated in the name-change contest.
The ministry said that the adult female brought from the Waterberg Reserve of South Africa has been named Dheera, the adult male has been named Uday, while the others are Prabhas and Pavak.
These cheetahs from Namibia were brought to Kuno National Park on 17 September. PM Modi himself released them by opening the gate of the enclosure. On the first day, the cheetahs were a little nervous seeing themselves in the new environment. But they have adapted to the new environs quickly.
