According to officials, eight cheetahs will be transported from Botswana in southern Africa to India in two stages, with four of them arriving by May. According to a statement from the Madhya Pradesh government, this information was provided by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) representatives who attended a review meeting of the cheetah project here on Friday, which was attended by MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change Bhupender Yadav.
“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,” the release quoted NTCA officials as saying.
According to the announcement, NTCA officials told the meeting that over Rs 112 crore has been spent on the nation’s cheetah initiative to date, with 67% of that amount going towards cheetah rehabilitation in Madhya Pradesh. “Under Project Cheetah, cheetahs will now be relocated in a phased manner to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. The sanctuary is adjacent to the border of Rajasthan, so an in-principle agreement has been reached between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to establish an inter-state cheetah conservation area,” the release said.
Special training is being given to “cheetah mitras” in Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary to enhance their capacity, it added. There were 26 cheetahs at Kuno National Park, according to forest officials during the meeting; 10 were in the rehabilitation centre (enclosures) and 16 were in the open forest. According to officials, the cheetahs are tracked around-the-clock using satellite collar IDs. They added that the number of visitors to KNP has doubled in the last two years and that female cheetahs Jwala, Asha, Gamini, and Veera had given birth to cubs.
“The state government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission to start cheetah safari in Kuno. 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 said.
On September 17, 2022, eight Namibian cheetahs—three males and five females—were released in KNP, the first time the large cats have ever moved between continents. Twelve additional cheetahs were moved from South Africa to KNP in February 2023. There are 26 cheetahs in Kuno National Park, including 14 cubs who were born in India.
