India declared the Asiatic cheetah extinct in 1952—the only large predator to vanish from the country since independence. Seventy years later, the government launched Project Cheetah, flying in 20 African cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in a first-of-its-kind intercontinental carnivore translocation. Three and a half years in, the population has grown to 38, with 27 cubs born on Indian soil.
India declared the Asiatic cheetah extinct in 1952—the only large predator to vanish from the country since independence. Seventy years later, the government launched Project Cheetah, flying in 20 African cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in a first-of-its-kind intercontinental carnivore translocation. Three and a half years in, the population has grown to 38, with 27 cubs born on Indian soil.
The program has faced significant mortality—eight of the original 20 adults died within two years, along with 12 cubs—but conservation officials point to nine successful litters and expansion to a second site at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary as evidence the population is stabilizing. Scientists estimate it will take 30 to 40 years and continued imports from Africa to establish a self-sustaining population.
