Bhopal, Sep 22 (IANS): Days after eight cheetahs were shifted from Namibia to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, an eight-member Special Task Force (STF) of wildlife officials has been appointed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to look after the big cats, official sources told IANS on Wednesday.

The eight cheetahs are currently kept in a quarantine zone, which the NTCA proposed to the Madhya Pradesh forest department via an order.

The eight-member STF will be headed by Alok Kumar, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Madhya Pradesh. The other members of the task force include Principal Secretary (forest and tourism), and wildlife experts from the NTCA and Wildlife Institution of India (WII), the sources said.

"The STF has been given the responsibility to ensure the security of the newly-introduced cheetahs at Kuno National Park. They will be recommending facilities required to ensure the safety of the cheetahs and submit reports to the NTCA," sources said.

The cheetahs were released at Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, which also happened to be his birthday.