Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Monday released two female cheetahs into the open jungle from their large quarantine enclosure at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district of the state.
The two cheetahs, CCV-2, and CCV-3, were released into the open jungle near the Kuno river. Brought to KNP from Botswana, Africa on 28 February this year, they are part of a group of nine cheetahs from Botswana, which also includes four more females and three males.
After releasing the two cheetahs today, Dr Yadav said that the land of Madhya Pradesh has made cheetahs a part of its family by providing them a suitable environment and carrying out significant work of their reintroduction.
He informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Project Cheetah in Kuno nearly three-and-a-half years ago on his 72nd birthday on 17 September 2022.
The CM noted that today this cheetah reintroduction project in the country is rapidly moving towards new dimensions with success, and Madhya Pradesh is continuously creating new milestones in this important initiative.
Chief Minister Dr Yadav said Madhya Pradesh is emerging as a major centre of religion, investment and biodiversity. “Reintroduction of cheetahs brought from Nigeria, South Africa and now Botswana is continuously achieving success, and today the state has earned its identity across the country as the ‘Cheetah State’,” Sr Yadav said.
At present, the number of cheetahs in MP, and India, is 57, of which 54 are in Kuno National Park and 3 are in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Ujjain division.