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Project Cheetah completed four years on 17 September 2026. India now has 52 cheetahs, and 32 of them were born in India.
49 cheetahs are in Kuno National Park and 3 in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. Both sites are in Madhya Pradesh.
The founders came in three batches: 8 from Namibia (17 September 2022), 12 from South Africa (18 February 2023) and 9 from Botswana (28 February 2026).
17 cheetahs roam free in Kuno. The other 32, including 19 cubs under a year old, are still in soft-release enclosures (bomas).
Cheetah declared extinct in India
8 cheetahs from Namibia released in Kuno National Park
12 cheetahs arrive from South Africa
First litter born in India; Mukhi is its only surviving cub
Males Prabhash and Pavak released into Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, the second site
Mukhi, born in India, gives birth to five cubs, the first second-generation litter
9 cheetahs arrive from Botswana
Fourth anniversary: population at 52
Both sites are in Madhya Pradesh. Kuno National Park is in Sheopur district, and the Kuno river flowing through it is a tributary of the Chambal. Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary spans Mandsaur and Neemuch districts around the Gandhi Sagar reservoir on the Chambal, next to the Rajasthan border.
Nodal agency for Project Cheetah. It is a statutory body under Section 38L of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (inserted in 2006)
Runs day-to-day management at Kuno and Gandhi Sagar
Scientific and technical partner of the project
Gives the cheetah the highest level of protection in India. The same Act (Section 38L) creates the NTCA.
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is Vulnerable. The Asiatic subspecies is Critically Endangered and survives in the wild only in Iran. India's founders are African cheetahs.
International commercial trade in cheetahs is prohibited, so every translocation needs government-to-government agreements.
GS Paper III > Environment > Conservation, species reintroduction
General Awareness > Environment & Current Affairs
Current Affairs > Environment
Consider the following States: 1. Chhattisgarh 2. Madhya Pradesh 3. Maharashtra 4. Odisha With reference to the States mentioned above, in terms of percentage of forest cover to the total area of State, which one of the following is the correct ascending order?
Answer: 3-2-4-1
Which of the following states is NOT a part of the Tapi River basin?
Answer: Rajasthan
"Project Tiger" was launched in India in which year?
Answer: 1973
Which state recorded the highest tribal population as per Census 2011?
Answer: Madhya Pradesh
The "Chau" dance is a semi-classical Indian dance with martial, tribal, and folk origins. It is NOT found in which of the following states?
Answer: Madhya Pradesh
Separate groups of one species at different sites, linked by managed movement between them
Holding animals in large enclosures (bomas) before releasing them into the wild
Deliberately moving wild animals from one area to another to establish or reinforce a population
Cubs whose mother was herself born in India