Cheetahs moving from Kuno to Rajasthan showing ‘natural territorial behaviour’: NTCA

Why in the News?

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has confirmed that two cheetahs, part of the first generation born in India under the ambitious Project Cheetah, have dispersed from Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh to the Baran district of Rajasthan. This inter-state movement has captured public and media attention, prompting the NTCA to officially clarify that this is a “natural territorial behaviour” and a sign of the project’s strategic success, rather than a cause for concern.

Background

• Project Cheetah: Launched in 2022, this is the Indian government’s flagship programme to reintroduce cheetahs to the country after the species was officially declared extinct in India in 1952.
• Translocations: To establish a population, cheetahs have been translocated from African countries. The first batch arrived from Namibia in September 2022, followed by cheetahs from South Africa. Most recently, on February 28, nine cheetahs arrived from Botswana.
• Current Population: Including the new arrivals, 29 adult cheetahs have been translocated from Africa. While nine adults have died, 28 cubs have been born in India (with around 12 deaths), marking a significant milestone for the project. Some adult cheetahs are housed in Kuno National Park, while three are in the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Feature

• The Dispersers: The cheetahs in question are named KP2 and KP3. They are not newly-imported adults, but rather part of the first generation of cubs born in India to the translocated African cheetahs.
• The Journey: Since late February, the two cheetahs have been tracked moving approximately 60-70 km from Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, crossing the state border into the Mangrol range and the Banjh Amli Conservation Reserve in Baran district, Rajasthan.
• Monitoring: The animals are equipped with satellite radio-collars and are being tracked 24/7. A joint inter-state team from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is monitoring their movement, with field teams deployed on the ground.

Challenge

• Ensuring Safety: The primary concern is the safety of KP2 and KP3 as they navigate outside the protected confines of Kuno National Park. They must be protected from potential poaching, conflicts with humans or livestock, and other dangers in the new landscape.
• Inter-State Coordination: The movement requires seamless coordination between the forest departments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to ensure the cheetahs are monitored and protected across administrative boundaries. The NTCA is overseeing this joint effort.
• Public Perception: Managing media and public narratives is crucial. The NTCA’s statement was a proactive effort to frame the dispersal as a positive sign of natural behaviour, rather than cheetahs “escaping” or the project failing.

Way Forward

• Continued Monitoring: The round-the-clock satellite tracking and ground patrolling will continue to ensure the cheetahs’ safety and to study their movement patterns in this new terrain.
• Validate the Corridor Concept: The NTCA views this dispersal as a validation of the project’s long-term strategic vision. It reinforces the rationale for developing a massive 17,000 sq. km Kuno-Gandhi Sagar inter-State wildlife corridor spanning eight districts in Rajasthan and seven in Madhya Pradesh. This corridor is designed to facilitate exactly this kind of natural movement.
• Inform Future Planning: Data gathered from the movements of KP2 and KP3 will be invaluable for managing the wider metapopulation and planning future reintroductions and habitat management.

Conclusion

The journey of cheetahs KP2 and KP3 from Kuno to Rajasthan is a landmark event for Project Cheetah. Far from being a setback, it represents a significant biological milestone: the first generation of Indian-born cheetahs is exhibiting the natural, long-range dispersal behaviour typical of the species. This movement underscores the importance of the proposed Kuno-Gandhi Sagar wildlife corridor and highlights the complex task of managing a reintroduced population across a large, interconnected landscape.