Project Cheetah turns four: 52 thriving, 32 of them born in India

Project Cheetah has completed four years with 52 cheetahs now spread across Kuno and Gandhi Sagar. The focus now shifts from reintroduction to creating a long-term breeding population across more habitats.

Project Cheetah in India has grown from the reintroduction of the species to the survival of cubs and expansion into new habitats, with the cheetah population rising to 52, including 32 born in the country. Officials recalled the programme's journey as it completes four years on September 17.

The next phase of the programme will focus on expanding suitable habitat for cheetahs and building a long-term cheetah meta-population in India. Officials said the spread from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary and other potential habitats is part of this plan.

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

Officials said 49 cheetahs are now in Kuno, while three are in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. They said the past four years saw major milestones, from reintroduction and breeding to the survival of cubs and movement into open forest areas.

Officials said the programme's progress came after early difficulties. “The team faced many challenges in the first year of cheetah reintroduction. During this time, they gained experience in cheetah behaviour, health, and management adapted to Indian conditions,” an official said.

In the second year, the focus shifted to the survival and development of cubs born in India, and 13 cubs survived for more than a year after birth, according to the document.

Officials said cheetahs were released into open forest areas in the third year, 2025, and were monitored round the clock across an interstate landscape covering 12 districts.

They said the animals gradually adapted to the new areas. In the fourth year, the establishment of breeding females and the successful survival of the second generation of cubs were seen as significant achievements.

Referring to the project milestones, officials said three of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia are alive. Along with 22 cubs born in India, this has taken the number of surviving Namibian-born cheetahs and their offspring to 25. On February 18, 2023, 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa, of which eight are alive.

With 10 cubs born in India, the number of surviving South African-origin cheetahs and their offspring has reached 18, of which 15 are in Kuno and three in Gandhi Sagar. In February this year, nine cheetahs were brought from Botswana, further strengthening the international base for cheetah restoration in India.

Of the 49 cheetahs in Kuno, 17 are in the open forest, including 10 males and seven females, while 32 are in soft-release enclosures. These include five males, eight females and 19 cubs under one year of age.