4 years of Project Cheetah

• The Cheetah Reintroduction Programme (Project Cheetah) completed four years on September 17.

• On September 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight wild cheetahs from Namibia into special enclosures at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

• From the reintroduction of cheetahs to ensuring the survival of cubs, Project Cheetah overcame unique challenges.

• The current population stands at 52 cheetahs, including 32 born in the country.

• While 49 cheetahs are in Kuno National Park, three others are in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, both in Madhya Pradesh. 

Cheetah Reintroduction Programme - Project Cheetah

• The ‘African Cheetah Introduction Project in India’ was first conceived in 2009. In 2013, the Supreme Court turned down the plea for relocation of African cheetahs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

• In January 2020, the Supreme Court allowed the government to introduce the African cheetah to a suitable habitat on an experimental basis to see whether it can adapt to Indian conditions.

• In September 2022, eight cheetahs airlifted from Namibia — five females and three males — were released in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP), putting the sanctuary in Sheopur district firmly on the world map.

• The cheetahs were introduced in KNP on September 17, 2022.

• It is said to be the world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.

• In a second such translocation, 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released into Kuno on February 18, 2023. 

• In 2025, three cheetahs were relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the boundary of Mandsaur and Neemuch districts in Madhya Pradesh.

• On February 28, 2026 Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav released nine cheetahs – six females and three males – received from Botswana into quarantine enclosures at Kuno National Park.

• Kuno National Park has been developed as the primary site for establishment of the population, while Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary has been prepared as an additional habitat to support further expansion. 

• These sites are part of a larger interconnected landscape across central India to facilitate dispersal and genetic exchange. 

• Preparatory work is also underway to expand the project to new areas, including the Banni grasslands in Gujarat.

Significance of cheetah reintroduction

• Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the world’s fastest land animal, got completely wiped out from India due to their use for coursing, sport hunting, overhunting and habitat loss. 

• Cheetahs don’t need much water and can survive in dry forests, grasslands, open plains and desert regions. 

• The last cheetah died in the country in 1947 in Korea district in present-day Chhattisgarh and the animal was officially declared extinct in 1952.

• Cheetah is considered vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of threatened species, with a declining population of less than 7,000 found primarily in African savannas.

• The main goal of cheetah reintroduction project in India is to establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator and provides space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts.