Project Cheetah expanded to Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary; cheetah population reached 30, including 19 India-born.

In the golden hues of a September dawn in 2022, eight majestic cheetahs from the Namibian savannas touched down on Indian soil, their paws marking the first steps of a species long absent from the subcontinent. This historic moment, presided over by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, heralded Project Cheetah, the world's first inter-continental translocation of a large carnivore. Fast-forward to November 2025: Mukhi, the first cheetah cub born on Indian soil, has herself become a mother to five healthy cubs, symbolizing not just biological resurgence but a profound testament to human stewardship over nature's delicate balance. Launched on September 17, 2022, under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and spearheaded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Project Cheetah embodies India's unwavering commitment to biodiversity restoration. Drawing from the 2013 Action Plan and Supreme Court directives, it seeks to reintroduce the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus, declared extinct in India in 1952) as a flagship species, fostering ecosystem health across vast landscapes.

As of December 2025, Kuno supports a population of 30 cheetahs. With a further eight cheetahs arriving in India from Botswana, the project continues to stand as a beacon of hope, earning international recognition for its scientific rigour and diplomatic finesse.

What began as a conservation experiment has grown into a statement of ecological optimism and national commitment: a chance to restore a broken ecological link, honour our natural heritage, and lead a global effort in large-carnivore rewilding.

The cheetah's tale in India is woven into the fabric of ancient lore, with the animal being a favoured hunting companion.  The Asiatic cheetah, once roaming from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent, vanished from independent India, leaving a void in the grassland-savanna biome. Historically, the Asiatic cheetah ranged widely across India, from Punjab in the north to Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, and from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to Bengal in the east, occupying diverse open habitats, including scrub forests, dry grasslands, savannas, and other arid to semi-arid landscapes.

The final confirmed sighting of wild cheetahs in India occurred in 1947, when three animals were shot in the Sal (Shorea robusta) forests of Koriya district in present-day Chhattisgarh. Five years later, in 1952, the species was officially declared extinct in India, marking the end of its native presence on the subcontinent.

India’s native Asiatic cheetah vanished due to a combination of excessive hunting, poaching, and the use of cheetahs for coursing. Large-scale habitat loss from agriculture, decline of prey, climate pressures, and the species’ low reproductive rate and narrow genetic base further accelerated their extinction.

Endorsed by an expert committee, Kuno NP was selected as the optimal reintroduction site after the relocation of 24 villages (1,545 families), creating nearly 6,258 hectares, post- incentivized voluntary relocation, of inviolate grassland for the cheetahs.

By 2022, fortified by Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)-aligned strategies for species recovery, India transformed this plan into action. The project's ethos resonates with UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land), positioning India as a leader in reversing biodiversity loss through transboundary conservation.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s personal vision and sustained intervention have been the driving force behind Project Cheetah, transforming a decades-old dream into a living reality. From directing the formulation of the 2022 Action Plan and pushing for the world’s first inter-continental cheetah translocation, to personally releasing the first eight Namibian cheetahs into Kuno National Park on 17 September 2022, he has remained deeply invested at every stage. He facilitated high-level MoUs with Namibia (July 2022) and South Africa (January 2023), engaged the nation by inviting citizens through Mann Ki Baat to name the cheetahs, and consistently highlighted milestones such as the birth of the first Indian cubs in 2023 and the historic second-generation litter litter in November 2025. As of December 2025, India has a total of 30 cheetahs - 12 adults, 9 sub-adults, and 9 cubs - comprising 11 founder stock and 19 India-born cheetahs.

By linking the project to Mission LiFE and India’s G20 “One Earth, One Family, One Future” ethos, PM Modi has elevated Project Cheetah into a global symbol of science-driven, community-inclusive rewilding, personally overseeing its progress and ensuring that the roar of the cheetah, silent in India for over seven decades, echoes once again across its ancient grasslands.