3rd batch of cheetahs to arrive in India on Feb 28: MP CM Mohan Yadav

Bhopal/New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) The third batch of eight cheetahs from Botswana will arrive in India on February 28, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said after a meeting with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister shared that during the meeting with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, detailed discussion was held on various issues related to tourism development, expansion of reserve forests, and wildlife conservation in Madhya Pradesh. 

During the meeting, he shared the state government's preparations to receive the new batch of cheetahs and sought cooperation from the Centre.

"Madhya Pradesh will bring wild buffaloes from Assam. We also discussed the process and the necessary cooperation and arrangements for the arrival of eight cheetahs from Botswana on February 28 this year," Chief Minister Yadav told media persons after meeting with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi.

The ambitious cheetah reintroduction project, was launched in the Kuno National Park (KNP) located in Sheopur district of Gwalior-Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh, with relocation of eight big cats from Namibia to the wildlife sanctuary on September 17, 2022, and subsequently 12 cheetahs from South Africa on February 18, 2023.

A total of 20 cheetahs were released at the Kuno National Park in two batches -- of them nine adults died so far, however despite continued deaths, the cheetah population at present crossed more than 30, including cubs.

Now, when the third batch of eight cheetahs is set to arrive, Madhya Pradesh has already established a second home for the big cats -- Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Two male cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, were shifted from Kuno National Park in the state to Gandhi Sagar, while female cheetah Dheera was shifted to Gandhi Sagar in September last year.

Earlier, in December 2025, a team from Botswana had visited Gandhi Sagar with senior officials of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India experts to review the preparations, including quarantine bomas (enclosures), control rooms and hospitals, and expressed satisfaction.

--IANS

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