How many Cheetahs are there in India?

As of January 2024, Kuno National Park has seven adult cheetahs from Africa and three cubs. The plan is to bring the total number of African cheetahs in Kuno to 40. This comes as a result of the ambitious ‘Project Cheetah’ reintroduction programme, which completed its first year on September 17, 2023.

Number of Cheetah in India 2024?

As of 2024, India is home to 10 Cheetahs, of which seven are adult cheetahs and three cubs from Africa. A government initiative called "Project Cheetah" has brought back the cheetah, which was once extinct in India.

The project brought 12 cheetahs from South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The goal of the project is to create a stable cheetah population in India. This will allow the cheetah to reclaim its role as a top predator, increase its historical range, and help global conservation efforts.

On September 17, 2022, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia, and 12 from South Africa on February 18, 2023. In March 2023, a female cheetah gave birth to four cubs in India, but three of them died from dehydration and weakness.

Journey of Cheetah reintroduction in India

Soon after confirming that cheetahs had become extinct in the country in the 1950s, discussions began about bringing them back to India.There were plans to bring cheetahs from Iran in the 1970s, but due to political instability in Iran, these plans didn’t work out. In the 1980s, Kenya offered to send African cheetahs to India.

In 2009, the Indian government proposed introducing African cheetahs to India, but the supreme court rejected the proposal. However, in early 2020, the court reversed its decision and permitted the introduction of a small number of cheetahs to India on a trial basis to evaluate their long-term adaptation.

On September 17, 2022, they released eight cheetahs from Namibia, aged between four and six years, into a small quarantined area within Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. They fitted these cheetahs with radio collars, and they will stay in the quarantined area for a month. They will release the males first and then the females into the larger park area.

Yadvendradev V. Jhala from the Wildlife Institute of India and Laurie Marker, a zoologist from the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, supervised the relocation process. Later, they will release 12 more cheetahs from South Africa in Kuno, aiming to increase the total number of African cheetahs in Kuno to 40.

Unfortunately, as of January 16, 2024, seven adult cheetahs and three cubs (out of four born in Kuno two months earlier) had died in Kuno National Park.

Timeline of Cheetah in India

• March 11, 2023: Cheetahs Oban and Aasha released in Kuno National Park, MP, India. Successful hunting confirmed.

• March 22: Two more cheetahs, Elton and Freddie, released. Total cheetahs in the wild: four.

• March 24: Siyaya gives birth to four cubs.

• April 2: Oban escapes but safely returned.

• April 24: Cheetah Uday dies of heart failure.

• May 9: Daksha dies due to a fight during mating.

• May 18: Supreme Court orders to spread cheetahs, criticizing concentration.

• May 19: Two males (Agni and Vayu) and a female (Gamini) released. Total cheetahs: six.

• May 23: Cheetah cub dies due to weakness.

• May 25: Two more cheetah cubs die from heat and weakness.

• May 25: New committee appointed after three cub deaths.

• May 28: Neerva released, total cheetahs: seven.

• July 14: Cheetah Suraj dies, eighth death in five months.

• August 2: Female cheetah Tiblisi/Dhatri dies due to maggot infection. Ninth death.

• January 3, 2024: Aasha gives birth to three cubs.

• January 16: Male cheetah Shaurya dies, total deaths: 10. Cause unknown.

Keep Reading more about Cheetah

• Story of Shaurya the 10th Namibian Cheetah died in Kuno
• Second batch of African Cheetah cubs born in Kuno National Park
• No more Namibian Cheetahs for India, South Africa to supply next batch
• What is the cost of India’s Cheetah Project?

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