Project Cheetah
Context:
Project Cheetah is a flagship initiative to restore India's natural heritage by reinstating the cheetah population (which was declared extinct in the country in 1952)
The project serves as a prototype for the restoration of original cheetah habitats.
These include grasslands and open forest ecosystems
The first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia arrived in 2022, followed by a second batch of twelve from South Africa in 2023
Cheetah's Role in the Food Chain:
The main goal of the project is to establish a viable cheetah population that can perform its functional role as a top predator.
This reintroduction aims to safeguard and restore predator-prey dynamics within the ecosystem
Cheetahs employ high-speed chases to hunt preferring small to medium-sized prey
In Kuno National Park
Chital is the preferred prey
It comprises 75% of recorded kills.
Sambar and Nilgai are also hunted
The mean kill interval observed is 5.6 days.
Wildlife Sanctuaries (WLS) and National Parks
Kuno National Park (KNP), Madhya Pradesh:
This was the first site selected for the reintroduction after a survey of ten locations.
It was chosen for its suitable habitat, adequate prey base, and freedom from anthropogenic disturbances.
Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh:
This is being actively prepared as the second home for cheetahs.
Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh:
It is Madhya Pradesh's largest wildlife sanctuary.
It is spread across the Sagar, Damoh, and Narsinghpur districts.
Geographically, it sits atop the upper Vindhyan range.
The sanctuary consists of a 1,414 sq km core zone and a 925 sq km buffer zone.
The sanctuary's habitat has excellent grassland quality and prey base.
Based on the current prey density, the area could support 25 cheetahs.
With improved management, this number could double to 52 in the core area, and the entire landscape could potentially harbour over 70 cheetahs.
It connects Panna Tiger Reserve and Satpura Tiger Reserve.
It also indirectly connects to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve via the Rani Durgawati Wildlife Sanctuary.
This makes it a potential stepping stone for cheetahs to recolonise a vast area of central India.