to emulate the rich Kenyan savannah — a habitat similar to what cheetahs naturally prefer. A team of experts has already submitted an assessment report confirming Banni’s suitability.
The plan is to move two females and one male from the latest Botswana batch to Banni, with more likely to follow. This will help spread cheetahs across multiple landscapes and connect them through a metapopulation framework, preventing inbreeding and improving the species’ long-term survival.
The Bottom Line for India’s Cheetah Comeback
Project Cheetah is one of the most complex wildlife reintroduction projects attempted anywhere in the world. The fact that the population has now more than doubled from the original 20 translocated individuals — including new births — shows the programme is working.
Challenges remain. Some adult cheetahs have died, and moving large carnivores between continents always carries risks. But the rapid breeding, the survival of second-generation cubs, and the expansion into Gujarat and beyond all point in the right direction.
India is once again becoming a country where cheetahs can thrive.
Exam-Focused Points
| Topic |
Key Details |
| Cheetah extinction in India |
Officially declared extinct in 1952 |
| Project Cheetah launched |
17 September 2022 from Namibia (8 cheetahs) |
| Second batch |
February 2023 from South Africa (12 cheetahs) |
| Third batch |
February 2026 from Botswana (9 cheetahs; 6 females, 3 males) |
| Total translocated |
29 cheetahs |
| Total Indian-born cubs |
33 |
| Total cubs born in Kuno overall |
39 (27 surviving as of Feb 2026) |
| Current population |
53 cheetahs (29 adults + 24 cubs approx.) |
| Kuno National Park |
Core hub |
| Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary |
First expansion, now 3 cheetahs |
| Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary |
Approved as 3rd cheetah habitat in MP |
| Banni grasslands, Gujarat |
Under consideration as a conservation breeding centre |
| Metapopulation framework |
Multiple connected sites to maintain genetic diversity
Month: Current Affairs - May 23, 2026
Category: Environment, Ecology
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