African cheetahs will soon be spotted in India thanks to a new deal with Namibia.
According to officials, the first batch of eight wild cats will arrive in India in August after the deal with Namibia was signed on Wednesday.
The country has previously been home to Asiatic cheetahs, but the species was officially declared extinct in India in 1952.
India's supreme court announced cheetahs could be introduced in a "carefully chosen location" on an experimental basis in 2020.
Hunting and loss of habitat are said to be the main reasons for the cheetah previously becoming extinct in India.
The new deal will see Namibia's African cheetahs flown to Kuno National Park, which is a wildlife sanctuary in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, for captive breeding.
The wildlife sanctuary was chosen as the cheetahs' home due to its abundant prey base and suitable grasslands.
"The main goal of [the] cheetah reintroduction project is to establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator," the Environment Ministry said in a statement.
The arrival of the cheetahs will coincide with India's 75th Independence Day celebrations.
Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on social media the return of cheetahs would "rekindle the ecological dynamics of the landscape".
"Cheetah reintroduction would also greatly enhance local community livelihoods through eco-tourism prospects in the long term," he said.
Mr Yadav said the wildlife sanctuary had the capacity to house 21 cheetahs, which would be increased to 36 when the larger landscape was restored.
The deal with Namibia will also see the two countries collaborate on climate change, waste and wildlife management.
Planning is also underway to ship cheetahs from South Africa to India, but a formal agreement has not been made.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed cheetahs as a threatened species as the population declines.
There are less than 7,000 cheetahs in the wild worldwide, primarily found in African savannas.
AFP/ABC
