Project Cheetah
India's Cheetah Reintroduction Programme
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) was declared extinct in India in 1952. After decades of planning and legal battles — including a Supreme Court reversal in January 2020 of its own 2012 ban on the project — India launched the world's first inter-continental large carnivore translocation. On September 17, 2022, Prime Minister Modi released 8 southeast African cheetahs from Namibia at Kuno National Park. A second batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa followed in February 2023.
- Implementing agency: NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority), in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, Cheetah Conservation Fund (Namibia)
- Kuno National Park: Located in Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh; 748 sq km core area; originally developed as a site for Asiatic Lion Reintroduction before being repurposed for cheetahs
- Current population (KNP): 12 adults (of 20 originally translocated) + 12 Indian-born cubs (of 17 born in India as of 2025)
- Cheetah under WPA Schedule: Listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 — highest protection category
- IUCN status: Vulnerable (global population ~7,000 individuals, declining)
● Tracked since February 18, 2026 · last seen April 11, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
11 Apr '26
Born at Kuno, raised in the wild: Second Indian-born cheetah gives birth
Environment & Ecology
10 Mar '26
Why some cheetahs from Madhya Pradesh are making their way to Rajasthan
Environment & Ecology
10 Mar '26
India’s Project Cheetah must stop importing big cats, say scientists
Environment & Ecology
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