A significant step in India’s wildlife conservation efforts is underway: a female cheetah, Dheera, will be relocated from Kuno National Park in Sheopur to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary on September 17. This follows the successful transfer of two male cheetahs to the Mandsaur district sanctuary four months prior, according to official sources.
R. Thirukaral, Sheopur’s Divisional Forest Officer, highlighted that this relocation coincides with the third anniversary of Project Cheetah. This ambitious initiative was launched to reintroduce cheetahs from African nations into India, aiming to revitalize their population. The current move specifically targets boosting the cheetah numbers within Gandhi Sagar.
Mr. Thirukaral explained, ‘We previously sent two male cheetahs, Prabhas and Pawak, to Gandhi Sagar in April. Now, we are carefully transporting Dheera, a female cheetah, to join them, ensuring all safety protocols are meticulously followed during the road transfer.’
This significant wildlife event falls on September 17, a day marked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district. During his visit, the Prime Minister will inaugurate India’s first PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park and launch several other key projects, also celebrating his 75th birthday.
It was on this very day in 2022 that Prime Minister Modi initiated India’s cheetah reintroduction program, releasing eight cheetahs brought from Namibia into Kuno National Park, marking a pivotal moment after the species’ extinction in India in 1952.
Just days prior, an Indian-born sub-adult female cheetah was discovered deceased in Kuno National Park. Initial investigations point to a conflict with a leopard as the likely cause. This 20-month-old cheetah, offspring of African cheetah Jwala, had been moved to the wild in February after being raised in a protective enclosure.
Kuno Field Director Uttam Kumar Sharma stated that the young cheetah had recently separated from her mother over a month ago and from her siblings within the past few days. While a leopard encounter is the suspected cause, a post-mortem report will provide definitive answers. Despite this loss, Kuno National Park continues to host a healthy population of 25 cheetahs, including nine adults (six females and three males) and sixteen Indian-born cubs, all reportedly thriving.