Cheetah Reintroduction in India

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The Memorandum of Understanding between New Delhi and Pretoria to bring 12 cheetahs to India from South Africa was finally signed after a long delay, sources have confirmed to Down To Earth. 

These cheetahs will join the eight big cats from Namibia that arrived at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district on September 17, 2022.

The dates of their arrival are still uncertain. The Madhya Pradesh Forest department had hoped the cheetahs would arrive by February, but the latest speculations suggest it will take at least until the first week of March.
Sources in India said the Indian delegation will leave for South Africa sometime in the second week of February to bring the 12 big cats.

A source from South Africa, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the MoU between the two countries has been signed. However, neither of the two governments has released an official statement yet. 



The MoU got clearance by the South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy in the last week of November. But President Cyril Ramaphosa only cleared it somewhere around January 24 for both countries to sign. 



Meanwhile, the MP forest and wildlife department is making preparations for the arrival of big cats. 

Three of the 12 cheetahs have been housed in the Phinda quarantine boma (small enclosure) in KwaZulu-Natal province. The other nine have been in the Rooiberg quarantine boma in Limpopo Province since July 15, 2022. 

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of MP J S Chouhan told DTE they are making new quarantine bomas for the new cheetahs. 




“They will be kept in quarantine for one month, as per protocol and then will be released into the five square kilometre area for soft release into the wild,” Chouhan had earlier told DTE. 

In earlier conversations with DTE, Vincent van der Merwe, manager for Cheetah Metapopulation, The Metapopulation Initiative, had said some cheetahs would have to be replaced with new ones due to the long quarantine. However, he could not divulge any further information regarding the same. 



The eight cheetahs — five females and three males — that were released in Kuno were also released into the five sq km area and are adapting well to the new environment. 



Chouhan had told DTE that they had acclimatised to India’s environment far better than expected and, since then, have made several kills of nilgai, sambar and cheetals. 



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