The Indian government has opted to build an Inter-State Cheetah Conservation Complex in the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape along the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border for future cheetah populations, as the largest wildlife experiment approaches its third year.
Although eight of the twenty adult cheetahs India has brought from Namibia and South Africa have perished since their historic relocation, the country has been keen to bring back the last large animal it has lost to extinction. There are currently just 12 adult cheetahs that are kept in the large confines of Kuno National Park. The 12 cubs born to the cats are all captive-born, with the exception of the first cub, who is being hand-raised after being abandoned.
In the next 25 years, the goal is to create a meta-population of 60–70 cheetahs. Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary has already been prepared as the second translocation site by the government as part of its strategy, and it is actively negotiating with South Africa and Kenya to import a third batch of cheetahs to India by the end of the year.
To protect a 64 sq km area for the cheetahs, a 28 km long predator-proof fence has already been installed, and the prey base is being expanded.
Geographic Coverage
The Chambal River basin makes up a significant portion of the Inter-State Cheetah Conservation Complex. It includes the districts of Sheopur, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Morena, Guna, Ashoknagar, Mandsaur, and Neemuch in MP; Baran, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Kota, Jhalawar, Bundi, and Chittorgarh in Rajasthan; and the adjacent districts of Lalitpur and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, depending on the cheetahs’ usage of the area. The total area covered by these several forest patches is 6,500 sq km in Rajasthan and 10,500 sq km in MP.
In order to guarantee appropriate cooperation between various forest departments, a multi-sectoral strategy will be developed as part of the incredible project.
To give cheetahs safe routes through sections of the terrain where humans predominate, numerous Cheetah Rapid Response teams are going to be established in different districts. “To identify potential wildlife corridors to safeguard against conservation antagonistic land use patterns” is another long-term goal of the strategy.
Sustainable Eco-Tourism and Revenue Generation
According to the government’s Annual Cheetah Report, eco-tourism is still on the agenda, but it should be “sustainable and conservative,” and opportunities to make money through brand creation, marketing, sponsorships, and merchandise will be explored.
The plan states that the cheetahs could have a large contiguous habitat of approximately 2,500 km2 made up of the adjacent territorial divisions of Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary-Neemuch (1000 km2), Mandsaur (500 km2), Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (208 km2), part of Mukundara Tiger Reserve, and territorial division of Chittorgarh (1000 km2) in Rajasthan.
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