Wildlife

On Cheetah Day, PM Modi invites wildlife fans to witness India's wild cats

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Project Cheetah was an effort to revive lost ecological heritage and urged wildlife enthusiasts to visit India to see the wild cat in all its splendour. In a post on X on International Cheetah Day, the prime minister extended best wishes to "all wildlife lovers and conservationists dedicated to protecting the cheetah, one of the planet's most remarkable creatures." "Three years ago, our Government launched Project Cheetah with the aim of safeguarding this magnificent animal and restoring the ecosystem in which it can truly flourish. It was also an effort to revive lost ecological heritage and strengthen our biodiversity," Modi said. He said India is proud to be home to several cheetahs, and a significant number of them are born on Indian soil. Many of them now thrive in the Kuno National Park and the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. "It is heartening to see cheetah tourism growing in popularity as well. I encourage more wildlife enthusiasts fro

Wildlife body reverses call to curb animal imports after Ambani zoo probe

Vantara, a 3,500-acre zoo in Gujarat run by the philanthropic arm of the Reliance conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani and his family, had faced allegations from non-profit and wildlife groups

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

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

No mining within 1 km of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries: SC

The Supreme Court has ruled that mining cannot take place within one kilometre of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, extending earlier directions to all protected areas

SC bans mining within 1 km radius of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries

The Supreme Court on Thursday banned mining activities within an area of one km from national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, noting that such activities will be hazardous to the wildlife . A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was considering pleas on issues related to the notification of areas under Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary (SWL) and the Sasangdaburu Conservation Reserve (SCR) as a conservation reserve in Jharkhand. "It has been the consistent view of this court that mining activities within one km of the protected area will be hazardous to the wildlife. Though in the case of Goa Foundation, the said directions were issued with respect to the State of Goa, we find that such directions need to be issued on a pan-India basis. "We direct that mining within national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and within an area of one km from boundary of such national park or wildlife sanctuary shall not be permissible," the bench said. The top court al

India to get 8 cheetahs from Botswana, Prez Murmu assures good care

India and Botswana on Wednesday formally declared the plan to translocate eight Cheetahs from the African nation during the state visit of President Droupadi Murmu. The President, while thanking her counterpart President Duma Gideon Boko and the people of one of the world's largest diamond producer countries for the gesture, assured that we will take good care of them (Cheetahs). Boko said his country will symbolically hand over the big cats to her excellency (Mumru) on Thursday. The two heads of state will preside over an event where eight captured Cheetahs will be released into a quarantine facility at the Mokolodi nature reserve, marking the symbolic handing over of the hunting cats to India by Botswana as part of Project Cheetah and under a mutual initiative for wildlife conservation. The Cheetahs have been brought to the nature reserve, 10 kms south of Gaborone, from the Ghanzi town located in the Kalahari desert. Botswana is a landlocked nation whose 70 per cent landmass is

8 more African cheetahs to arrive in India soon, S Africa team visits MP

Eight cheetahs have been captured in Botswana in southern Africa ahead of their translocation to India under the cheetah reintroduction programme, launched in 2022 after the fastest land animal went extinct here decades ago, a senior forest official said. The cheetahs, including two males, will be quarantined for a month and undergo a medical examination before being sent to India, the official told PTI, requesting anonymity. "Inter-continental translocation involves several formalities. Considering these and the upcoming Christmas holidays, I can't say when the cheetahs will be flown to Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh; most probably in January," he added. When contacted, Cheetah Project field director Uttam Sharma stated that the matter was being handled by the two governments and he could not comment on it. "We already have enclosures and facilities ready for the third batch of cheetahs, which were prepared when the animals were earlier brought from Namib

Project Cheetah: New big cats expected by year-end, talks underway

At present, India has 27 cheetahs, including 11 translocated from South Africa and Namibia in two batches, and 16 born in India

SIT submits sealed report to SC on Vantara wildlife case in Gujarat

SIT had spent three days at Vantara and engaged multiple other investigative agencies, including senior officials from multiple state forest departments, to assist in the inquiry

Gujarat records 307 Asiatic lion deaths in 2 yrs, 41 unnatural: Minister

At least 307 Asiatic lions died in Gujarat in the last two years, and 41 of these fatalities occurred due to unnatural causes, state Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera has told the legislative assembly. Responding to a query raised by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Umesh Makwana during the Question Hour on Wednesday, he said the state government spent Rs 37.35 crore on various measures during these two years to check unnatural deaths of lions. While 141 lions died between August 2023 and July 2024, the deaths of 166 big cats were reported between August 2024 and July 2025, Bera told the House. Of these 307 lions, 41 were killed due to unnatural causes. While 20 felines died after falling into wells, nine others drowned in other water bodies. Other causes include natural calamity (two lions), road accident (two), run over by trains (five) and electric shock (three), he said. The state government has taken various steps to curb the unnatural deaths of big cats, such as setting up centres for t

Odisha's Debrigarh to become India's newest tiger reserve after revival

In the dense forests where freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai once evaded British forces, Odisha's Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is scripting one of India's most remarkable conservation success stories as it prepares to become the country's newest tiger reserve. The 804-square-kilometre sanctuary, which received National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approval in July 2025, has transformed from a conflict-prone area with human habitation into a thriving ecosystem that generated Rs 5 crore in tourism revenue and attracted 85,000 visitors in 2025 alone. "We have very healthy prey density with populations of gaur, sambar, spotted deer, wild boar and recovering wild dog numbers. The leopard population is also good," Divisional Forest Officer Anshu Pragya Das told PTI. What makes this transformation extraordinary is the numbers: 40 per cent of all animal herds now consist of newborns, while the Indian gaur population jumped from 670 to over 700 in just six months, indicating a thrivin

Valmik Thapar's final book distils half a century of tiger conservation

Valmik Thapar's final book celebrates India's tiger legacy, blending conservation insights, Ranthambore tales, and lyrical portraits of the majestic Royal Bengal Tiger

SC probe into Vantara: Why RIL-backed wildlife project is under scrutiny

Vantara, Anant Ambani's wildlife project in Jamnagar, is under Supreme Court probe - here's what it is and why questions are being raised

Extreme heat has cut tropical bird populations by 38% in 70 years: Study

Birds in tropical regions are now experiencing dangerously hot days about ten times more often than they did in the past

Three tiger cubs die in Bannerghatta despite efforts from doctors

Three tiger cubs that were allegedly abandoned by their mother after littering have died in Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) recently, officials said on Saturday. Tigress Hima Das gave its third litter of three cubs on July 7, and after giving birth, she did not take care of them, and consequently, all three cubs were injured, they said. According to the BBP, the cubs were shifted to a Hospital for intensive care and hand-rearing. Despite all interventions by doctors, the cubs didn't survive. On July 8, a male cub died, and on July 9, another male and a female cubs died. "A post-mortem was conducted by the veterinary team. One male cub died due to cervical injury due to stamping, another male cub died due to injuries to brain tissue and meningeal hematoma caused as a result of the mother's biting on its head, while the female cub succumbed to stamping," the BBP said, in a statement. The whole ordeal was CCTV-monitored, and animal keepers and doctors have taken utmost care in ...

Arunachal highway through tiger reserve approved by wildlife board

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife has cleared a proposal to divert 310 hectares of forest land from the core area of Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh for the construction of the Arunachal Frontier Highway (NH-913). The decision comes even as some members flagged serious concerns over inadequate wildlife mitigation measures and the planned felling of over 1.5 lakh trees. The project in the Changlang district, connects NH-215 near Kharsang to the Miao-Gandhigram-Vijaynagar road, a stretch of the strategic NH-913 corridor close to the India-Myanmar border, according to government records. The Public Works Department (PWD), Arunachal Pradesh, had sought 248.79 hectares (ha) of forest land for intermediate laning and 61.21 ha for muck disposal. On June 26, member secretary of the committee said a meeting regarding the project proposal had been held with committee members H S Singh and R Sukumar, along with the state's chief wildlife warden (CWW). It w

NBWL clears over 30 defence projects in protected areas across states

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), headed by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, has recommended 32 defence infrastructure proposals involving diversion of land from protected areas and eco-sensitive zones across Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Ladakh and Sikkim. These include construction of strategic roads, helipads, training areas, ammunition depots, housing for troops and artillery regiments, with the bulk of the projects located in Ladakh's ecologically fragile Karakoram and Changthang sanctuaries. In Arunachal Pradesh, the committee cleared two major projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) inside Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary: the 56-km Malinye-Balua-Kapuda road (involving 111.29 hectares of forest land and 9.73 ha from the Eco-Sensitive Zone) and the 20.88-km Kapuda-Phuphu road (involving 44.13 ha of forest land). "The animal passage plan for the present proposal should address the wildlife movement for the animals found in the sanctuary

Centre plans revision of eco-sensitive zone guidelines amid concerns

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) has called for a review of the guidelines governing Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) around protected areas, stressing the need for a more "flexible" and "site-specific" approach that balances conservation goals with local socio-economic "realities". ESZs are buffer areas created around protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks to protect wildlife and biodiversity from harmful human activities, such as mining, construction and polluting industries. Activities like farming, eco-tourism and the use of renewable energy are usually allowed with restrictions in these areas. Chairing a meeting of the SC-NBWL on June 26, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "Strict protection must be ensured for core areas, especially those that are the origin points of tributaries and critical water resources. However, extending a blanket 10-kilometre ESZs to all protected areas, irrespective of local ecological and

Delhi Zoo to sign MoU with Vantara, Congress raises privatisation fears

The agreement will be a 'knowledge-sharing partnership' between the Delhi NZP, GZRRC, and the Gujarat government, a senior official said

RTI reveals Iran keen to learn from India's cheetah revival efforts

Iran, working to save its rapidly declining cheetah population, has shown interest in learning cheetah management from India, according to information received through an RTI application. Rajesh Gopal, chairman of the government's Cheetah Project Steering Committee, shared this information during a meeting of the panel in February. "In a recent meeting, Iranian officials have expressed their interest in learning cheetah management in India," the minutes of the meeting quoted Gopal as saying. He also suggested that the International Big Cat Alliance, an India-led initiative, could reach out to other cheetah range countries interested in learning about cheetah conservation and management. However, when asked if Iran had formally approached India in this regard, a senior official of the National Tiger Conservation Authority said, "There is no such proposal at this juncture." The government's "Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetahs in India" also mentions that India would be willing