Kuno cheetahs to shift to Gujarat’s Banni; expert team submits assessment report

Bhopal: In a major step towards taking the Centre’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme beyond the Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh, a special expert team constituted under ‘Project Cheetah’ has handed in its assessment report on Gujarat’s Banni grasslands as another home for the feline species. The report has been submitted to the high-powered steering committee overseeing the programme.

The move paves the way for the first translocation of African cheetahs outside Kuno.

The report, prepared after an extensive field assessment of Banni in Gujarat’s Kutch region, was submitted by a team headed by ‘Project Cheetah’ director Uttam Sharma and comprising senior experts, including an official from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and a wildlife veterinarian from Kuno National Park, sources told TOI.

The team is understood to have evaluated multiple parameters critical for cheetah introduction, including prey density, habitat suitability, veterinary preparedness, enclosure readiness, human-wildlife interface, landscape connectivity and long-term management requirements.

The report has now been placed before the special steering committee formed under ‘Project Cheetah’, which will decide the next course of action, including whether Banni is ready to host cheetahs, the number of animals to be shifted and the timeline for their relocation.

While Uttam Sharma declined to disclose the findings of the team’s report, sources familiar with the assessment said the recommendations are largely favourable to Gujarat.

However, officials said the final decision rests with the steering committee, which will examine the report before approving any movement of animals at their next meeting.

While officials were tight-lipped on the assessment report, insiders said most likely three cheetahs, two females and one male from the Botswana batch currently housed at Kuno, would be sent to Banni.

“Banni marks a significant milestone in India’s effort to expand ‘Project Cheetah’ beyond Kuno. Since the arrival of African cheetahs from Namibia and Botswana in 2022, Kuno has remained the focal point of the world’s first intercontinental translocation of a large carnivore. Efforts are underway to develop multiple landscapes to establish a stable and genetically viable cheetah metapopulation,” an official said, requesting anonymity.

Gujarat forest department had placed their request for translocation of cheetahs a few months ago.