Claiming that Madhya Pradesh currently has the highest growth rate of Cheetahs in the world, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav released two Cheetahs from the Kuno National Park (KNP) into the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS) on Sunday evening.
The Cheetahs, ‘Prabhas’ and ‘Pavak’, both around six-year-old, were in the KNP for the past two years. They were today relocated to the GSWS, as part of the extension of the state’s ambitious ‘Cheetah Project’. Initially, Prabhas and Pavak were relocated as adults from South Africa’s Waterberg Biosphere Reserve to Kuno National Park in February 2023.
The two Cheetahs were released into a 16 square kilometer enclosure within the Game Range West Sanctuary, Khimla, of the GSWS.
The KNP is situated in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh and the GSWS is located about 250-km away in the state’s Ujjain Division. The GSWS spans across 368.6 square kilometers on the western edge of MP, bordering Rajasthan. The sanctuary stretches along both banks of the Chambal River across Mandsaur (187.1 sq km) and Neemuch (181.5 sq km) districts in the Ujjain division.
The CM expressed joy at the shifting of the two Cheetahs to a new home and said releasing them is a significant step in the ambitious initiative to increase the number of cheetahs in India and preserve their species.
He said although the Cheetah reintroduction has been attempted in other countries, it hasn’t met with the same success as in India. He pointed out that the survival rate of Cheetahs here is higher than in any other nation, as Madhya Pradesh’s forests and climate are conducive to Cheetahs. “The growth rate of Cheetah cubs in Madhya Pradesh is the highest in the whole world,” Dr Mohan Yadav claimed. “We have seen a growth rate of more than 80 per cent in the Cheetah population in MP, which is a matter of research for the whole world,” he maintained.
“The Cheetahs had become extinct in the entire Asian continent but now Madhya Pradesh, which is already the ‘Tiger State’ of India, has also become the ‘Cheetah State’,” the CM expressed joy.
The chief minister informed that the GSWS spans around Mandsaur and Neemuch districts in the Ujjain division of the state. He noted that Cheetahs might have roamed this region hundreds of years ago, and their return, after years of extinction, is auspicious for wildlife tourism.
Dr Yadav highlighted that the GSWS includes the ‘Chaturbhuj Nala’, renowned for its prehistoric rock paintings.
The CM also informed that eight more Cheetahs are being brought to Madhya Pradesh from Botswana in two phases. In the first phase, four Cheetahs are likely to arrive in May. Similarly, plans are also underway to get more Cheetahs from South Africa and also from Kenya in the future.