Project Cheetah marked its fourth anniversary on 17 September 2025 with India's cheetah population standing at 52 — 49 at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh and three at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. Crucially, 32 of those animals are Indian-born, signalling that the world's largest cheetah reintroduction programme has transitioned from crisis management into a phase of consolidation.

How the Numbers Add Up

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the initiative on 17 September 2022 by releasing eight Namibian cheetahs into Kuno. Of that founding cohort, three survive today, joined by 22 of their Indian-born offspring — bringing the Namibian-origin lineage to 25 animals.

A second batch of 12 South African cheetahs arrived on 18 February 2023; eight remain alive, with 10 Indian-born cubs, accounting for 18 animals (15 in Kuno, three in Gandhi Sagar). A third cohort of nine cheetahs from Botswana was introduced on 28 February 2026, further diversifying the gene pool.

Wild vs Enclosure: Where the Animals Are

At Kuno, 17 cheetahs — 10 males and 7 females — are currently free-ranging in the wild. A further 32 animals (5 males, 8 females, and 19 cubs under one year of age) remain in soft-release enclosures with access to natural prey, a standard step before full wild release.

The programme's inter-state monitoring footprint now spans 12 districts, with round-the-clock surveillance as cheetahs navigate landscapes across state boundaries.

From Crisis to Consolidation: The Four-Year Arc

Project Cheetah Director Uttam Kumar Sharma has characterised the journey as 'one of constant learning, adaptation, setbacks and recovery' in his status review titled Four Years of Cheetahs in India. The first year was the hardest: between March and August 2023, six introduced cheetahs and three of the first four Indian-born cubs were lost.

One cub that survived against all odds — abandoned by her mother and widely expected to die — is today known as Mukhi, herself the mother of five healthy cubs. Her story has become emblematic of the project's resilience.

During the same crisis period, the Kuno field team captured 12 cheetahs and returned them safely to enclosures in just 10 days. A separate 21-day search for Nirva, a South African female whose tracking collar failed during the monsoon, ended with her found alive — an experience that, according to the review, 'forged a resilient team and the confidence that would carry the project forward.'

Year-by-Year Progress

The second year delivered the project's first sustained breeding success, with 13 cubs surviving beyond one year. By the third year, cheetahs were being released into open wilderness and monitored across the multi-district landscape, demonstrating that the animals could navigate and survive Indian terrain. The fourth year has seen the animals increasingly display natural behaviours, with the programme now expanding to additional sites beyond Kuno.

What Comes Next

The establishment of breeding females and the survival of second-generation cubs are considered the two key benchmarks for long-term viability in large-carnivore reintroductions. Both have now been met. With Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary absorbing its first three animals and Botswana's cohort newly integrated, the programme's geographic and genetic base is widening — a necessary step before any future population targets can be set with confidence.