India’s cheetahs find a new home, but the same old problems

The Gandhi Sagar sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh has been selected as the second home for cheetahs in India. But a closer look shows that the reserve is ill-prepared to welcome the big cats.

A month ago, a delegation from Kenya visited the Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. They were there to take stock of preparations to welcome a fresh batch of cheetahs for the next phase of India’s Project Cheetah. Launched in 2022, the ambitious and controversial Project Cheetah is a government initiative to reintroduce the extinct species to the country. It is the first ever intercontinental translocation of cheetahs.

India has so far flown in 20 felines—8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa. Of these, only 13 have survived—concerning wildlife experts and conservationists about the feasibility of such translocation …

Author

Diti Pujara

Diti is a copy editor at The Morning Context. She joins us from Deccan Herald where she oversaw the daily news coverage in the digital vertical as a chief sub-editor. She also managed social media and contributed to data stories and film analysis. Before DH, she was with Reuters as an online producer.

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diti@mailtmc.com

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Disha Acharya

Disha is a writer at The Morning Context. She has previously worked at the digital production desk of Reuters. Prior to that, she was a sub-editor at Deccan Herald.

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disha@mailtmc.com

Bengaluru