Context: 

The Cheetah Project Steering Committee have recently approved the translocation of some of the cheetah from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

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This comes amid ongoing negotiations with Kenya, South Africa and Botswana to translocate the next batch of cheetahs to Madhya Pradesh.

The Cheetah Project Steering Committee was constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2023 to review, monitor and advice on the implementation Project Cheetah.

• The project kickstarted in 2022 with the translocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa to Kuno National Park. Eight of these and five cubs born in Kuno have died.

Currently, Kuno NP has 26 cheetahs, with 17 in the wild and 9 in enclosures.

Key Highlights of the Plan

• The aim is to establish a metapopulation of 60-70 cheetahs across the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• In the first phase, four to five cheetahs will be released in the western part of the Gandhi Sagar WLS.
• An area of 64 square kilometres has been cordoned off and leopards have been moved out to prevent conflict between the two wild cats.
• Gandhi Sagar WLS is also being prepared to be a home for the next batch of African cheetahs. 

Concerns

• Availability of adequate prey is an issue, for which ex-situ introduction (e.g. of chital) and in-situ breeding of prey is being discussed.
• The presence of leopards which are competing co-predators.
• Violation of standard operating procedures, as seen in recent controversy of a forest department driver giving water to cheetahs.