Female cheetah from Botswana to be relocated to Gandisagar sanctuary

Wildlife authorities in Madhya Pradesh are set to relocate a female cheetah, identified as CCB2, from Kuno National Park to Gandisagar Wildlife Sanctuary as part of efforts to expand the big cat's presence across multiple protected habitats in the state.

The cheetah, which was brought to India from Botswana, will be released into the wild at Gandisagar under the supervision of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. The translocation is expected to strengthen the cheetah population at the sanctuary, which currently hosts two male and two female cheetahs.

With the arrival of CCB2, Gandisagar will have a total population of four cheetahs, supporting the broader objective of establishing self-sustaining cheetah populations across multiple Indian reserves. The relocation reflects India's ongoing commitment to its cheetah reintroduction programme, which aims to restore the species to habitats where it had been extinct for nearly seven decades.

The translocation follows India's successful cheetah reintroduction efforts that began in 2022 with the arrival of African cheetahs at Kuno National Park. Distributing the animals across multiple sanctuaries is expected to reduce inbreeding risks and create a more viable long-term conservation strategy for the species in India.