Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav today released two female cheetahs into the wild at Kuno National Park in Sheopur district. Both cheetahs are part of the batch of nine that arrived in India from Botswana in February 2026.
They were released after successfully completing their quarantine and adaptation process. Out of the nine cheetahs brought from Botswana, six are females and three are males. With their arrival, the total number of cheetahs in India has now reached 57.
Speaking to the media on the occasion, Dr Yadav said, “We have released both cheetahs into the open jungle and open environment to live freely with nature, expressing the spirit of co-existence. I congratulate the people of Sheopur and the Chambal region. The habitat of these cheetahs has now spread across 5,000 sq km. It is a matter of pride for us that they have now started living with us like family. We don’t even realise when our cheetahs run all the way to Rajasthan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Cheetah Project at Kuno about three and a half years ago, and today the project is reaching new heights of success. This is the third major international phase of Project Cheetah. Earlier, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia in 2022 and 12 from South Africa in 2023. The cheetahs from Botswana bring greater genetic diversity, which will help build a healthier and stronger cheetah population. Plans are also underway to relocate some of them to Gandhi Sagar and Nauradehi sanctuaries in the future.
