Bhopal: Two South African cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, have been released in their new home, the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, after spending two years at Kuno National Park. They left Kuno at around 8 am Sunday, said Cheetah Project director Uttam Sharma.
The two, along with 10 other cheetahs, were brought to Kuno from the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve in South Africa in February 2023 as part of the first phase of the Project Cheetah—a plan initiated by the Union government in September 2022 to establish the population of cheetahs in India. So far, 20 cheetahs have been brought into the country, with 10 (including seven adults and three cubs) losing their lives.
Forest officials said Prabhash and Pavak were selected for the shift after considering their wild traits and their age. Cheetahs born and raised in the wild have a natural instinct to kill and have a better chance of surviving. The two male cheetahs, who are around 6 years old, are at their prime.
The two shared a soft-release ‘boma’—a temporary enclosure that is used in wildlife conservation to acclimate animals to their new surroundings—from September 2023.
Between September 2023 to July 2024, Prabhas and Pavak largely preyed on chitals (spotted deer), and they took about 5.87 days per kill, according to Madhya Pradesh forest officials. Most of the detected kills (38) were made as a coalition—a kind of social group—with a few individual kills.
The cheetahs preyed on both males and females chitals equally. Among the kills made by Prabhas and Pavak as a coalition, the majority (79 percent) of them were adult chitals. In cases of individual kills, mostly females and young were preyed on.
Looking at their predatory patterns and after studying them closely in Kuno, the prey base has been suitably augmented inside Gandhi Sagar, with chitals and bison translocated from Kanha, Sanjay and Satpura Tiger Reserves. The forest department has also translocated blackbucks along with chinkaras (gazelle).
Additionally, at least 24 leopards were shifted out from Wildlife Sanctuary since the large number of leopards was affecting the prey base.
Speaking to ThePrint, Sharma said, “Both the Cheetahs have faced two summers in Kuno and adapted easily to the surroundings. They also have their lineage back in Kuno. They are fit, perfectly wild for their release into Gandhi Sagar.”
In August 2024, cubs were born to Pavak and female cheetah Gamini, the first litter born from the South African cheetahs. Then, in the first week of February 2025, two cubs were also born to female cheetahs Veera and Prabhash. Both Veera and Gamini were brought in from South Africa’s Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.
Pavak and Prabhash were among the 10 cheetahs that were still in the large enclosures in Kuno National Park, while the remaining 16 of the 26 cheetahs are in open forest. With the latest move, the present strength of Kuno National Park will now go down to 24.
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Specialised transportation
At the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, the cheetahs will initially be kept in a 15 square km-wide enclosure equipped with sufficient prey base, allowing the two to settle in with ease. This will be surrounded by a 64 km-long predator-free area.
The Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 368.63 square km, lying in both the Neemuch and Mandsaur districts of western Madhya Pradesh, along the border with Rajasthan.
The eastern and western ranges of Gandhi Sagar are separated by the deep gorge of the Chambal River as well as the reservoir of the dam. Officials said this gives animals a minimal chance of crossing to the other side.
On Saturday, director Sharma, along with his team, captured the two male cheetahs. They were kept in an enclosure overnight. On Sunday, they were tranquilised and transported to their new home in specialised vehicles. The entire journey was about 7-8 hours long, and both the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments overseeing the safe passage of the cheetahs.
At Gandhi Sagar, they were released into the wild by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
Officials said the male coalition would not need to be quarantined, as it is only needed in case of animals being brought in from a different country.
The shifting of the male coalition comes after a delay in the arrival of cheetahs from Kenya and South Africa, who were to be brought into the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. It was not clear exactly when the cheetahs were expected to arrive in the sanctuary, which has been equipped with quarantine enclosures along with other medical facilities developed on the lines of Kuno National Park.
According to the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, eight more Cheetahs are expected to arrive in India, with the first batch of four cheetahs set to arrive from Botswana by May, while another four are expected to come in from Kenya or South Africa later this year.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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