Four years after India brought back the cheetah, the country now has 52 of the animals, including 32 born on Indian soil. The latest status review of Project Cheetah shows how the programme has moved from bringing animals from Africa to breeding them in India and releasing them into larger habitats.
The project was launched on September 17, 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. More animals were brought from South Africa in 2023 and from Botswana in 2026. The existing population includes surviving cheetahs from those batches and their offspring.
Of the 52 cheetahs in India, 49 are in Kuno National Park and three are in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, also in Madhya Pradesh. The latest review describes the population as a combination of adult cheetahs brought from Africa and animals born in India.
Breeding has become an important part of the project. The present population includes 32 cheetahs born in India, showing that the aanymal brought from Africa have reproduced successfully in the country.
The programme recorded its first Indian-born cheetahs in 2023. Since then, several litters have been born at Kuno. In November 2025, Mukhi became the first female cheetah born in India to give birth. She delivered five cubs.
Another Indian-born female, KGP12, gave birth to four cubs in the wild at Kuno in April 2026. She was 25 months old and was the second cub from Gamini’s first litter. The birth was the first recorded birth in the wild under the Project Cheetah involving a female born in the country.
The programme also recorded another large litter in March 2026 when Jwala, a Namibian cheetah, gave birth to five cubs at Kuno. That took the number of Indian-born thriving cubs to 33 at that point and pushed the overall population to 53. The population later stood at 52 after subsequent deaths.
From Kuno to Gandhi Sagar
The project has also moved beyond its original site. Three cheetahs are now housed at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, while Kuno has 49.
Of the animals at Kuno, 17 are presently moving in the open forest, according to officials cited in the four-year review. The others are being managed in enclosures, including 19 cubs that are less than a year old.
The government has also increased the area available for the animals. At a review meeting in Bhuj on September 13, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said protected habitat for cheetahs has increased to 3,428 square kilometres through the integrated management of Kuno and Gandhi Sagar. Banni Grasslands in Gujarat and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh have been identified as possible future release sites.
The latest data also puts the cub survival rate at Kuno at around 68 per cent. The programme is now looking at habitat, prey availability and movement between suitable areas to support a larger population.
What next phase looks like
The next stage of the project involves building a long-term population across several suitable habitats rather than relying on a single national park. The expansion to Gandhi Sagar has given the programme a second site, with other areas being assessed for future releases.
The government says the project is also being managed at the regional level, with grasslands, prey availability and ecological connectivity included in the planning. This approach is intended to support a larger free-ranging cheetah population over time.
The animal was declared extinct in India in 1952. The first eight animals brought from Namibia came here seven decades later, in September 2022. Four years on, 52 cheetahs are spread across Kuno and Gandhi Sagar, with 32 of them born in India.
Bureau Report
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