Project Cheetah: How many cheetahs have died, and what are the next steps?

Five cheetahs and three cheetah cubs have died in the last four months with fighting, illness, and weakness being the main causes

Eight cheetahs, including three cheetah cubs, have died so far in Kuno National Park. This leaves only 10 cheetahs who were reintroduced to India as a part of Project Cheetah.

A female cheetah, Sasha died on March 27 due to kidney complications, followed by Uday, who died due to heart failure on April 24.

On May 9, another female cheetah, Daksha died during a fight that broke out with a male cheetah during mating.

Three unnamed cheetah cubs died on May 23 due to “sweltering heat and weakness.” Most recently, Tejas, a male cheetah died on June 11 due to suspected infighting.  In the latest development, reports of the death of a cheetah named Suraj came in on June 14. The caue of death is still unknown.

 

 

What is Project Cheetah?

Cheetahs have been extinct in India for around 70 years. Project Cheetah is an initiative to reintroduce the species into the country.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), this is the “first intercontinental reintroduction of a wild, large carnivore species.”

It was also the first time that a southern African cheetah was introduced in a foreign country.

 

When was it launched?

The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), a non-profit organisation in Namibia was invited to participate in a programme to reintroduce cheetahs to India by the Government of India.

The then Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) shared the first overview of Project Cheetah in September 2010. This outlined the current status of Cheetahs around the world, the benefits and complexities of reintroducing cheetahs into India, and areas where they may be reintroduced along with information about the task force.

In January 2020, the Supreme Court of India approved the pilot programme to reintroduce cheetahs into the country.

Subsequently, in July 2020, India and the Republic of Namibia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), where the Namibian government agreed to donate the eight felines to the programme.

 

How many cheetahs were introduced?

Five female and three male southeast African cheetahs, between the ages of four and six were brought to India and kept in quarantine in Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh.

On September 17, 2022, on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 72nd birthday, three of the cheetahs were released into KNP. The other cheetahs were released in phases after they had spent at least a month in quarantine to acclimatise to the new space.

A total of Rs 96 crore was allocated to the project with Indian Oil providing an additional Rs 50 crore.

In February 2023, 12 more cheetahs were brought from South Africa to expand on the project. The MoEFCC further planned “to translocate a further 12 annually for the next eight to 10 years,” according to a press statement released by the ministry.

 

What is the purpose of reintroducing Cheetahs into India’s ecosystem?

Aside from being the fastest animal in the world, the Cheetah is also the flagship species of grasslands, scrublands, and open forests. The conservation of cheetahs can ensure other grassland species are also preserved in the predator food chain.

As a top predator, cheetahs also play a role in enhancing diversity among species.

All twenty cheetahs survived their initial capture, quarantine, and lengthy transport to the quarantine area in KNP, Madhya Pradesh.

 

Where were they introduced?

Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was granted the status of a national park in 2018. During the 1990s it was selected to be a potential site for Asiatic lion reintroduction project. Instead, it became home to the 20 cheetahs relocated as a part of Project Cheetah.

The park has a core area of 748 sq km and a buffer zone of 487 sq km.

In March, Yadvendradev Jhala, a wildlife scientist who was involved in the cheetah reintroduction programme told the Hindu, that KNP did not have the capacity to sustain all 20 cheetahs. Jhala cited the lack of prey as the main reason for this. Adding that political reasons were responsible for not shifting some (at least five as suggested by Jhala) to Rajasthan.

Conservationists have also argued about insufficient space in KNP for cheetahs to establish their own territories, which would lead to fights and possible deaths of cheetahs.

 

Dwindling numbers of cheetahs

The MoEFCC stated cheetah numbers have declined worldwide from an estimated 15,000 adults in 1975 to less than 7 000 in 2023.

According to the National Geographic Society, humans are a big threat as they have infringed upon the cheetah’s natural habitat. Furthermore, cheetahs may also suffer from infectious diseases spread by domestic cats. Climate change and hunting are also major factors. Moreover, cheetahs also reportedly have low reproductive success, making it difficult for the species to grow.

An official working on Project Cheetah told Business Standard earlier, that the project had expected a 50 per cent mortality rate in the first year of the cheetah’s relocation.

 

Future plans for the project

 

In April, following the deaths of two cheetahs, the Madhya Pradesh forest department asked the Centre for an alternate site for cheetahs. Officials cited the “lack of logistical support and space” as the reason for the request.

However, as of June, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav stated that while Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary in northwestern Madhya Pradesh had been identified as an alternative site, no plans had been made to relocate the cheetahs yet.