Cheetahs vs Nilgai: Predators Turn Saviors for Farmers in Gandhi Sagar

For decades, farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Malwa region have waged a losing battle against nilgai (also known as blue bulls; they are the largest antelope in Asia) herds that devastate their crops overnight. Now, an unexpected ally has emerged from a conservation program that could reshape this conflict—but not without raising new concerns.

The Nilgai Crisis

In the districts of Mandsaur and Neemch, herds of 40-50 nilgai regularly invade farmlands under cover of darkness, destroying wheat, chickpea, soybean, and opium crops. Farmer Ramlal Patidar from Barkheda Pambh village suffered losses worth ₹2.5 lakh last year despite spending nights guarding his five-acre farm with sticks and firecrackers.

"Nilgai come in groups of 20-30 at night. We patrol all night with sticks and make noise, but still lose 30-40% of our crops," Patidar explains, his frustration evident after years of failed protective measures.

The problem extends far beyond Madhya Pradesh. While specific data remains scarce, an estimated 100,000 nilgai inhabit India, with populations in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat reaching problematic levels. In Madhya Pradesh alone, 34 tehsils (blocks) across 21 districts face nilgai conflicts, making it the second-worst affected state after Bihar.

Each adult nilgai consumes 14 kg of dry biomass daily, damaging 45 crop varieties—31% vegetables, 22% pulses, and 20% cereals. Experts attribute the population boom to declining natural predators, deforestation, and abundant food sources near human settlements.

Failed Solutions and Mounting Frustration

Traditional deterrence methods have proven inadequate. Farmers have erected wire fencing, burst firecrackers, and maintained night vigils, but nilgai either leap over six-foot barriers or simply ignore the disturbances. Government initiatives, including sterilisation programs and relocating nilgai to tiger reserves, have yielded limited success.

The state's wire-fencing subsidy scheme, offering 50% support to farmers, has also disappointed. Preet Pal Singh from Behpur village spent ₹45,000 fencing 15 bigha of land but watched helplessly as nilgai cleared the barriers with ease.

A previous relocation attempt in 2016-17 saw 27 nilgai captured from Neemch and Mandsaur and released in the Gandhi Sagar forest area. The forest department spent over ₹42 lakh on this exercise before abandoning it as financially unsustainable.

Enter the Cheetahs

On April 20, 2025, two South African cheetahs Prabhav and Pavak were relocated from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. This move, part of India's ambitious cheetah reintroduction program, has unexpectedly provided relief to local farmers.

Divisional Forest Officer Sanjay Raikhere reports remarkable results:

"These cheetahs hunt one nilgai every two to three days. In the past 80 days, they've made over 30 kills, with 70% being nilgai."

The Gandhi Sagar Cheetah Action Report by the Wildlife Institute of India confirms that chinkara (7.4 per sq km) and nilgai (4.4 per sq km) are the primary prey species, providing sufficient food for up to 10 cheetahs. The long-term goal envisions a metapopulation of 60-70 cheetahs across the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar landscape.

Hemraj Dhakad from Rampura village in Neemuch has witnessed the change firsthand:

 "Earlier, 20-30 nilgai would enter our fields at night. Now we see only 5-7."

New Fears Emerge

While farmers celebrate reduced crop damage, anxiety about livestock safety is growing. Dinesh Gurjar, a dairy farmer from Chainpuriya block, represents the conflicted sentiment:

"Cheetahs have somewhat protected our crops, but this relief is incomplete. If they start hunting cattle, we'll face double trouble."

These concerns aren't unfounded. In March 2025, villagers pelted stones at cheetah Jwala and her cubs in Kuno after cattle predation incidents, highlighting the delicate balance between conservation success and community acceptance.

Prahlad Gurjar from Rawali Kudi village voices the prevailing fear: "What if cheetahs attack our livestock?" In Chainpuriya, where 452 families own 70-80 cattle each, proximity to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary intensifies these worries.

Compensation: Promise vs. Reality

Madhya Pradesh's Public Service Guarantee Act 2010 promises compensation within 30 working days for wildlife damage. The rates vary from ₹5,500 per hectare for 25-33% damage in unirrigated crops to ₹32,500 for over 50% damage in irrigated fields. Human casualties receive ₹8 lakh compensation, while permanent disability cases get ₹2 lakh.

However, ground reality differs starkly. Farmers report an average wait of 208 days instead of the promised 15 days. Many applications are rejected by claiming damage below the 25% threshold.

Ramlal Patidar's experience illustrates this disconnect:

"Last year, nilgai and wild boar damaged 50-60% of my rabi crop. The survey team assessed it as less than 25% and rejected my application."

Official data reveals the inadequacy: between 2013 and 2023, Mandsaur district received compensation of just ₹67,716 across 10 cases—a pittance considering the widespread damage.

Alternative Approaches

Agricultural scientists suggest innovative solutions. Dr. S.K. Sharma recommends adopting Uttar Pradesh's "ninja technique," where farmers plant trees around field boundaries with 2-foot-wide trenches, preventing nilgai from reaching crops due to their limited neck mobility.

Dr. R.P. Singh from Kotwa Agricultural Science Centre advocates an organic repellent mixture containing cow urine, neem leaves, datura, red chilli, garlic, and goat manure, fermented for 25 days before spraying. This biological approach offers a sustainable, cost-effective deterrent.

Wildlife expert Ajay Dubey emphasises the need for comprehensive surveys to understand nilgai dietary preferences and enhance forest food availability. "If nilgai are leaving forests for residential areas, it indicates a decline in forest density and a lack of sufficient preferred food sources," he explains.

Forest department officials are preparing a helicopter-based capture and relocation program with South African expertise, starting as a pilot project in Shajapur district post-monsoon. HoHowever, farmers remain sceptical due to past failures and the high costs involved.

The nilgai problem reflects deeper ecological imbalances across northern and central India. Bihar leads in nilgai conflicts affecting 22 districts and 86 tehsils, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh with 20 districts and 33 tehsils.

While the Gandhi Sagar cheetah program offers hope through natural predation, it represents only a partial, localised solution. Success depends on maintaining adequate prey bases and managing human-wildlife conflicts as cheetah populations expand. 

Conclusion

The introduction of cheetahs to Gandhi Sagar has created an intriguing dynamic—apex predators helping farmers by controlling herbivore populations that agriculture initially supported through crop cultivation. This ecological intervention demonstrates nature's complex interdependencies while highlighting the unexpected benefits of conservation.

However, sustainable solutions require comprehensive approaches that include scientific surveys of nilgai populations, enhanced forest management to retain wildlife in their natural habitats, effective compensation mechanisms, and farmer education on innovative deterrence methods.

Until these systemic changes occur, the conflict between agricultural needs and wildlife conservation will persist. While promising, the cheetah program remains an expensive solution to a problem that requires landscape-level interventions and policy reforms. 

For now, farmers in Mandsaur and Neemuch experience cautious optimism—their ancient adversaries face new predators, but those same predators might soon target their livestock. In this complex conservation story, today's solution could become tomorrow's challenge. 

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