Female cheetah Veera was shifted to a soft release 'boma' from the quarantine enclosure in Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, taking the number of the big cats that made this transition during the week to 12, officials said.

Veera was shifted to the soft release boma successfully following protocols after completion of a health checkup, an official release said.

'The cheetah was fitted with a satellite collar before shifting. Veera is healthy. It was in the quarantine boma for health checkup. The shifting in the soft-release boma was completed successfully in the presence of senior officers by the team of veterinarians of KNP," it said.

Earlier this week, male cheetahs Pawan, Gaurav, Shourya, Vayu, Agni, Prabhas and Pawak and female cheetahs Dheera, Nabha, Asha and Gamini were shifted to the soft release bomas from the quarantine enclosures.

Under the cheetah reintroduction project, eight Namibian cheetahs, comprising five females and three males, were released into enclosures at KNP on September 17 last year.

In February this year, 12 more cheetahs arrived at KNP from South Africa. Later, four cubs were born in KNP, which raised their number to 24.

Since March, nine cheetahs, including three cubs, have died, while 14 cheetahs and one cub are in healthy condition, officials said.

Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952.

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