2 Years of Project Cheetah: It Wasn’t an Easy Road, Says Bhupender Yadav

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday (September 17, 2024) that Project Cheetah has been a challenging two-year project with several hurdles to overcome successfully, from adapting the habitat to ensuring the survival of the cubs in the wild.

Mr Yadav said the project, conceived by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a path-breaking project that symbolises hope globally for successfully restoring lost wildlife species and ecosystems.

“It has not been an easy road. Numerous challenges, from adapting to the habitat to ensuring the survival of the cubs in the wild, have been overcome,” he posted on X.

“Today, as the world watches these cheetah cubs thrive in their natural habitat, we celebrate not only their survival, but also the resilience and dedication of everyone involved in this monumental effort,” he said.

This is just the beginning of restoring balance to our ecosystems, with many more milestones to come, the minister added.

As part of the first-ever intercontinental translocation of the big cats, 20 cheetahs have been brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh so far: eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023.

Since their arrival in India, eight adult cheetahs have died, three females and five males.

Several promising births, fewer but painful losses, growing optimism and some criticism marked the second year of the internationally acclaimed Project Cheetah. File | Photo credit: ANI

Seventeen cubs were born in India, of which 12 are alive, bringing the total number of cheetahs, including cubs, in Kuno to 24. They are currently all in enclosures.

The grand initiative celebrates its second anniversary on Tuesday.

Triumphs, Trials and the Way Forward in Year 3

Several promising births, fewer but painful losses, growing optimism and some criticism marked the second year of the internationally acclaimed Project Cheetah, which, despite many challenges, looks ahead with renewed hope and ambition.

As the large-scale initiative turns two years old on Tuesday (September 17, 2024), authorities are accelerating efforts to bring a new batch of cheetahs from Africa to the Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, their second home in India. They are also setting up a breeding centre in the Bunni grasslands in Gujarat.

They also want to create a larger cheetah habitat, which will span the territorial areas of Neemuch (about 1,000 sq km) and Mandsaur (500 sq km) in Madhya Pradesh, along with the Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (208 sq km) and Chittorgarh (about 1,000 sq km) in Rajasthan.

In a major boost to the project, 13 cubs were born on Indian soil in the second year, two of which did not survive.

The Namibian cheetah Aasha gave birth to three cubs in January. Another Namibian female, Jwala, also had three cubs that month. Jwala had four cubs last year, but only one survived. The South African cheetah Gamini had six cubs in March, bringing the total number of cubs this year to 13.

Two adult cheetahs, Namibian males Shaurya and Pawan, died this year. Pawan was the only cheetah roaming freely in Kuno National Park. Shaurya died in January of blood poisoning and Pawan died in August of “drowning”. Experts say cheetahs generally do not drown.

While authorities are busy preparing the 368 square kilometre Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary for the next batch of cheetahs, the cheetahs in Kuno remain confined to enclosures measuring just 0.5 to 1.5 square kilometres.

In comparison, in the wild, cheetahs require much larger home ranges, typically over 50 square kilometers, depending on prey availability.

“The cheetahs are not really living in the wild, despite having spent two years on Indian soil. Cheetahs like long journeys and they can be under a lot of stress,” said an African expert who helped reintroduce the cheetah to India, on condition of anonymity.

Ravi Chellam, CEO of Metastring Foundation and coordinator of the Biodiversity Collaborative, said that based on global experience and Namibian laws and policies, it is not a good idea to release these cheetahs due to the extremely long period of time they are held in captivity, especially the cubs born in captivity.

Last month, the Cheetah Project Steering Committee decided to gradually release African cheetahs and their Indian-born cubs back into the wild after the monsoon in central India ends, usually in the first week of October.

The cheetahs were initially released into the wild, but were returned to their enclosures in July-August last year after three cheetahs died – a female named Tbilisi (from Namibia) and two South African males, Tejas and Sooraj – from septicaemia, an infection that occurs when bacteria enter the bloodstream and spread.

According to the government’s annual Project Cheetah report, the condition was caused by wounds under the cheetahs’ thick winter fur on their backs and necks, which became infested with maggots and led to blood infections.

Officials had previously said PTI that the unexpected growth of winter fur in some cheetahs during the late summer and monsoon, in preparation for the African winter (June to September), posed a major challenge to the management of the animals in India during the first year.

Data obtained by PTI A Right to Information study by India found that it was considering importing new cheetahs from Somalia, Tanzania, Sudan and other countries closer to the equator or in the Northern Hemisphere, to avoid biorhythm problems seen in big cats brought from Southern Hemisphere countries such as South Africa and Namibia.

SP Yadav, the Director General of the International Big Cat Alliance, said PTI that the MoU process to bring a new batch of cheetahs from Kenya is underway, with India having finalized its part and awaiting approval from the African country. Discussions are also underway with South Africa.

The first group of eight cheetahs from Namibia were introduced to India in September 2022 and the second group of 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa last February.

The cheetahs for the breeding centre being built in Gujarat’s Bunni grasslands will also be brought from Kenya, said Mr Yadav, who is an advisor to the centre’s cheetah project steering committee.

While the third group is expected to arrive by the end of this year, data shows that Kuno National Park is still struggling with a large leopard population and a small prey base. Moreover, the two challenges have delayed preparations at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

About ₹3.75 crore has been spent on grass restoration in an area of ​​about 5,000 hectares in Kuno, as part of efforts to improve habitat and maintain a healthy prey base. The high leopard population in both Kuno and Gandhisagar prompted the initiation of a leopard translocation drive.

Although cheetahs coexist with leopards and lions in Africa, some Indian officials are concerned that the large leopard population could reduce the prey available to cheetahs.

This year, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) also approved a proposal to produce a four-part web series on Project Cheetah to showcase the country’s efforts to the world. However, some wildlife activists and experts criticized the rush to produce the documentary while the project still faces significant challenges.

A May report by the Madhya Pradesh auditor general pointed to problems including a “lack of coordination” between central and state departments and a high vacancy rate.

The report states that the Kuno Reserve was originally designated as a secondary habitat for Asiatic lions and that “there was no mention of cheetahs in this management plan”.

In the second year, the Madhya Pradesh forest department also refused to provide information under the Right to Information Act on cheetah management, leading to widespread criticism.

As Project Cheetah enters its third year, conservationists are closely monitoring its progress, hoping that the cheetahs can be reintroduced to the wild with minimal human intervention.

There are high expectations for improved coordination, greater transparency and more effective habitat management to ensure the success of the project.