Project Cheetah

Geography glossary

Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Project Cheetah is India's programme to bring back the cheetah, which was declared extinct in India in 1952. It does this by moving wild cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, and since 2025 also to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. It matters because it is the world's first move of a large wild carnivore (a meat-eating animal) from one continent to another. It is also often in the news, both for its successes and for the problems it faces.

Explanation

Why India needed the project

  • The cheetah is the fastest land animal.
  • It was declared extinct in India in 1952.
  • It is the only large mammal India lost after Independence.
  • Project Cheetah is a species project: a special government programme for one animal in serious danger. It brings money, protected land, research and protection staff together for that one species.
  • The cheetah also works as a flagship species: a large, well-known animal used to protect a whole habitat.

How it was done, step by step

  • Translocation means catching wild animals in one place and releasing them in another place where they can live.
  • Step 1: 17 September 2022. 8 cheetahs from Namibia were released into Kuno NP, Madhya Pradesh [2].
  • Step 2: February 2023. 12 cheetahs from South Africa were released into Kuno [1].
  • Step 3: 2025. Cheetahs were brought into Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Mandsaur–Neemuch, MP, on the Chambal river). This became the project's second site [1].
  • Result by December 2025: 30 cheetahs in total, including 19 cubs born in India [1].
  • Why a second site matters:
  • If all the cheetahs live in one park, one disease or one disaster could kill most of them.
  • Spreading them across two sites lowers this risk.

Problems and debates

  • Deaths: several adults and cubs have died.
  • Wrong coat for the climate:
  • Some cheetahs grew thick winter coats, even in the Indian monsoon heat.

  • The thick, wet fur led to infections.

  • Is Kuno right for cheetahs?

  • Kuno may be too small.
  • Prey (the animals cheetahs hunt) may be too scarce.

  • Kuno has no fence, so cheetahs walk out of the park.

  • Human–wildlife conflict: cheetahs that leave the park come close to villages, which leads to conflict with local people.

Where it occurs

  • Source countries (Africa): Namibia (8 cheetahs, September 2022) [2] and South Africa (12 cheetahs, February 2023) [1].
  • Site 1: Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. Releases began on 17 September 2022 [2].

  • The Supreme Court had picked Kuno in 2013 as a second home for the Asiatic lion. The lions were never moved, and Kuno received cheetahs instead.

  • Site 2: Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Mandsaur–Neemuch districts, Madhya Pradesh, on the Chambal river). Cheetahs arrived in 2025 [1].

  • Who runs it: the Government of India, as a national species-recovery programme.

Don't confuse with

  • Asiatic lion second home (Gir → Kuno): the Supreme Court ordered lions moved to Kuno in 2013 (Centre for Environmental Law v. Union of India), but the lions were never moved. Kuno got cheetahs, not lions.
  • Indian Rhino Vision 2020: rhinos were moved inside Assam (from Kaziranga and Pobitora to parks such as Manas). Project Cheetah moves animals between continents (Africa → India).
  • Crocodile Breeding (Conservation) Project, 1975: this works by "grow and release", meaning eggs are collected and the young are raised in centres before release. Project Cheetah moves wild adult animals from another country.
  • The cheetahs brought in vs. the cheetah India lost: the animals now in Kuno and Gandhi Sagar are African cheetahs brought to India. They are not survivors of the population that died out in India in 1952.

Prelims Hooks

  • Cheetah declared extinct in India: 1952. It is the only large mammal India lost after Independence.
  • Namibia → Kuno NP (MP): 17 September 2022, 8 cheetahs [2]. South Africa → Kuno: February 2023, 12 cheetahs [1].
  • Second site: Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Mandsaur–Neemuch, MP, on the Chambal), 2025 [1].
  • December 2025 count: 30 cheetahs, including 19 born in India [1].
  • World first: the first move of a large wild carnivore from one continent to another.
  • Trap: Kuno was named in 2013 as the second home for the Asiatic lion. No lions were ever moved there. Both cheetah sites are in Madhya Pradesh, not Gujarat or Rajasthan.

Mains Points

  • Keeping a species in one place is risky (GS-III):
  • If all the cheetahs live only in Kuno, one disease or disaster could wipe them out.
  • Adding Gandhi Sagar (2025) as a second site lowers this risk [1]. Lions in Gir and rhinos in Indian Rhino Vision 2020 teach the same lesson.

  • The lion move to Kuno never happened, even after the 2013 court order. This shows conflict between states and weak follow-up of court orders.

  • Successes and limits of bringing back a species:

  • Success: 19 cubs born in India and 30 cheetahs by December 2025 [1].
  • Limits: deaths of adults and cubs, thick winter coats causing infections in the monsoon, and doubts about Kuno's size and prey.

  • Lesson: moving a species needs good habitat, enough prey, and animals adapted to the local climate, not just the animals themselves.

  • Habitat and human–wildlife conflict:

  • Cause: Kuno has no fence, so cheetahs walk out into farmland and villages.
  • Result: conflict with villagers, and local people lose patience with conservation.
  • Response: protect the land around the parks, pay compensation quickly, and involve local communities in protecting the cheetahs.

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1PIB: "A Sprinting Revival: The Return of the Cheetah" (12 December 2025)pib.gov.in · tier 1
  2. 2PIB: "PM releases wild Cheetahs - which had become extinct from India - in Kuno National Park"pib.gov.in · tier 1