South Africa recently signed an agreement to send dozens of cheetahs to India over the next decade in an effort to reintroduce the cats 70 years after Indian cheetahs went extinct (AP). Cheetahs used to be widespread in India, but became extinct there in the late 1940s because of hunting and loss of habitat. Under the agreement, South Africa will send 12 cheetahs next month and a similar number annually for the next 8 to 10 years to help establish a "viable and secure" population (BBC). 

The agreement follows a 2020 India Supreme Court ruling that African cheetahs could be brought into the country at a "carefully chosen location" on an experimental basis (BBC). India received eight cheetahs from Namibia last September, marking the first time wild cheetahs have been moved across countries to be released (Reuters). India hopes that reintroducing the cats will help the country's efforts to conserve threatened and neglected grasslands (AP).

Cheetah populations are declining in most countries, with fewer than 7,000 adult cheetahs currently in the wild across the globe (AP). South Africa is an exception, however, where the cats are running out of space. Once transported, the cheetahs will be released in various national parks (CNN).