India’s ambitious wildlife conservation initiative, Project Cheetah, entered a significant new phase after two female cheetahs from Botswana were released into the open forest area of Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on 11 May 2026. The release followed the successful completion of quarantine and acclimatization procedures, marking another important step in India’s efforts to restore a free-ranging cheetah population.
The two cheetahs were part of a group of nine animals brought from Botswana in February 2026 under India’s international cheetah relocation programme. Before their release, the animals were kept in controlled enclosures to adapt to local climatic conditions, prey availability, and the Indian forest ecosystem.
Project Cheetah was launched with the objective of reintroducing cheetahs into India after the species became extinct in the country in 1952. The programme aims to create a sustainable wild cheetah population, improve genetic diversity, and restore ecological balance in suitable habitats.
Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh serves as the primary site for the reintroduction project. The latest release is being viewed by wildlife experts as a crucial expansion phase because it increases the number of free-ranging cheetahs within the park’s ecosystem.
With the arrival of the Botswana cheetahs and the birth of cubs in India, the country’s total cheetah population has reportedly reached 57. Earlier phases of Project Cheetah involved the relocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia in 2022 and 12 from South Africa in 2023.
Conservation experts believe the successful adaptation and breeding of cheetahs in India could strengthen long-term wildlife restoration efforts and establish one of the world’s most closely watched species reintroduction programmes.
