African cheetahs housed in MP’s Kuno National Park will be released into the wild in phases, officials at the environment ministry confirmed.

This release is being carried out to follow the recommendations of the standing committee. The preparations are underway to ensure a smooth transition for the cheetahs. 

This decision is first tested by only letting out two cheetahs Vayu and Agni to monitor their adaptation before proceeding with the release of all. They will be observed, to see how they respond to the transition say officials.

This is the first-ever intercontinental translocation of species, 20 cheetahs were brought to the national park, 8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa. 

The transition has not been smooth; there have been challenges, as 8 adult cheetahs, 3 females, and 5 males died, but they have managed to keep the initiative going.  

In a post on X, the Kuno National Park stated "On Celebrating 2 Years of the Cheetah Project, we embarked on a historic journey of reintroducing cheetahs to India. We faced numerous challenges along the way, yet every hurdle taught us lessons."

In continuing the celebration of the completion of 2 successful years of the cheetah project at Kuno National Park, they have made a short on the antics of cheetah cubs: 'Siblings.'

They also have their newsletter that captures the journey of these magnificent cats from their arrival till now at Kuno.

 cheetah project's newsletter

 

There have been discussions with other states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to keep the project coordinated and to make it a success. 

They also plan to expand the cheetah population to other suitable habitats like introducing cheetahs to the Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary in MP. 

The environment ministry is negotiating with South Africa and Kenya to bring additional cheetahs.