Eight cheetahs are set to be brought to India from Botswana in two phases, with the first group of four expected to arrive by May, officials concerned with the development informed on Friday.
According to a release issued by the Madhya Pradesh government, the information was shared during a review meeting of Project Cheetah in Bhopal. The meeting was attended by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, along with representatives of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
"Efforts are underway to bring more cheetahs from South Africa, Botswana, and Kenya to India. Eight cheetahs will be brought to India in two phases. There is a plan to bring four cheetahs from Botswana to India by May. After this, four more cheetahs will be brought. At present, consent is being developed on an agreement between India and Kenya," NTCA officials were quoted as saying in the release.
NTCA officials informed the meeting that over ₹112 crore has been expended on the cheetah project to date, with 67 per cent of the amount allocated towards cheetah rehabilitation efforts in Madhya Pradesh.
The cheetahs brought from Botswana are likely to be housed at the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in the state, which is now being developed as a second site for cheetah relocation under Project Cheetah. The sanctuary, located near the Rajasthan border, will be part of a newly proposed interstate cheetah conservation area. An in-principle agreement has reportedly been reached between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for this purpose.
The release added that “special training is being given to 'cheetah mitras' in Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary to enhance their capacity.” The initiative aims to strengthen conservation support at the grassroots level.
According to forest department officials, Kuno National Park (KNP) currently houses 26 cheetahs — 16 roaming free in the wild and 10 in enclosures within the rehabilitation centre. These include 14 cubs born in India.
The cheetahs are being monitored continuously through satellite collars. “Female cheetahs Jwala, Asha, Gamini and Veera have given birth to cubs,” the release stated, adding that tourist footfall in KNP has doubled over the past two years.
The state government has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission to initiate a cheetah safari in Kuno National Park. “This permission is necessary to start safari in forest areas or eco-sensitive zones. The decision on this petition is yet to be made,” the release added.
India’s cheetah reintroduction efforts began with the release of eight Namibian cheetahs — five females and three males — into Kuno on 17 September 2022, marking the world’s first intercontinental translocation of the species. In February 2023, 12 more cheetahs were brought in from South Africa.
The cheetahs are part of a long-term project aimed at reintroducing the big cat to Indian ecosystems, where it was declared extinct in the 1950s.
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