India to bring 8 cheetahs from Botswana in two phases, four to arrive next month — All you need to know

India will soon welcome eight more African cheetahs from Botswana as part of the ongoing Project Cheetah initiative, according to an official statement from the Madhya Pradesh government. The translocation will take place in two phases, with four cheetahs expected to arrive by May 2025 and the remaining four in the subsequent months.

The announcement was made during a high-level review meeting held in Bhopal on Friday, chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. 

Officials from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) confirmed that preparations are underway for the translocation and that efforts are also being made to bring more cheetahs from South Africa and Kenya.

“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 stated, according to a press release cited by India Today and Times of India.

Project Cheetah, launched in 2022, is India’s ambitious initiative to reintroduce the extinct species of cheetahs in the wild. So far, more than Rs. 112 crore has been spent on the project, with about 67% allocated to cheetah rehabilitation activities in Madhya Pradesh alone.

In a significant expansion of the project, the cheetahs arriving from Botswana will not be housed in Kuno National Park, where most of the current population resides, but instead will be relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Located near the Rajasthan border, Gandhi Sagar will serve as a second home for the cheetahs, and an inter-state conservation corridor is being developed through an agreement between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Kuno National Park currently houses 26 cheetahs, including 14 cubs born in India. According to forest officials, the adult cheetahs are monitored 24x7 through satellite-enabled collar tracking. Among them, female cheetahs Jwala, Asha, Gamini, and Veera have successfully given birth since their arrival.

To support the expansion to Gandhi Sagar, training is underway for local “cheetah mitras” – trained volunteers and forest staff – to enhance monitoring and conservation efforts.

Additionally, the Madhya Pradesh government has filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking permission to initiate cheetah safari activities 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 statement said.

India began its reintroduction efforts on September 17, 2022, with the release of eight cheetahs (five females and three males) from Namibia in Kuno. This marked the world’s first intercontinental translocation of cheetahs. In February 2023, twelve more cheetahs from South Africa joined the population.

With the arrival of new cheetahs from Botswana, Gandhi Sagar’s inclusion signals the next phase of Project Cheetah – spreading the population across suitable habitats and ensuring long-term viability for the world’s fastest land animal on Indian soil.