Gujarat’s Banni grasslands ready for translocation of cheetahs by year end

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The forest department has increased the prey base in the area and also set-up an enclosure.

Earlier, Cheetahs have been relocated to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh from Kuno National Park (MP).
Other potential sites listed in the action plan for cheetah introduction: Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh; Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary, Sanjay National Park, Bagdara Wildlife Sanctuary, Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in MP; Desert National Park and Shahgarh grasslands in Rajasthan and Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary in UP.

About Banni Grassland

Located in Kutch district of Gujarat, this is a unique salt-tolerant grassland ecosystem.
Asia’s largest tropical grassland, which has emerged from the sea due to tectonic activities.
Inhabited by various pastoral communities, such as the Maldharis, Rabaris, Mutwas, and Meghwals.

About: Launched in 2022 for the translocation of African cheetahs into India (Kuno National Park ) from Namibia and South Africa.
- First intercontinental reintroduction of a wild, large carnivore species.
Implementing agency: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Cheetah Project Steering Committee: Established by NTCA in 2023 to oversee, evaluate, and advise on implementation of Project Cheetah.
- NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under enabling provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006.

World’s fastest Mammal and the only large carnivore to be extinct in India (1952).
Unlike other big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars) cheetahs don’t roar.
Two Species of Cheetahs exists :
- African Cheetah (IUCN Status- Vulnerable).
- Asiatic Cheetah (IUCN Status- Critically Endangered).
Found only in the arid regions of eastern Iran in Asia, and in Africa.