Union Minister for Environment,Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav on February 18 released Twelve cheetahs brought from South Africa at Kuno National Park, Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh.
- Now the total number of cheetahs in Kuno National Park has increased to 20. In September 2022, the Prime Minister had released 8 cheetahs brought from Namibia in Kuno National Park.
Cheetahs in India
- The last cheetahs in the Indian wilderness were recorded in 1947 where three cheetahs were shot in the Sal (Shorea robusta) forests of Koriya District, Chhattisgarh State.
- The main reasons for the decline of cheetah in India were large scale capture of animals from the wild for coursing, bounty and sport hunting, extensive habitat conversion along with consequent decline in prey base and in 1952 Cheetahs were declared as extinct.
Project Cheetah
- The goal of Cheetah introduction project in India is to establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator and provide space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historic range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts.
The major objectives of the introduction project are:
- To establish breeding cheetah populations in safe habitats across its historic range and manage them as a metapopulation,
- To use the cheetah as a charismatic flagship and umbrella species to garner resources for restoring open forest and savanna systems that will benefit biodiversity and ecosystem services from these ecosystems,
- To use the ensuing opportunity for eco-development and eco-tourism to enhance local community livelihoods and
- To manage any conflict by cheetah or other wildlife with local communities within cheetah conservation areas expediently through compensation, awareness, and management action.
