Cheetahs Prabhash and Pavak get new home in MP's Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary

Two South African cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, who were translocated to Kuno National Park more than two years ago, found a new home on Sunday when Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released them into the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.

These six-year-old male cheetahs, originally brought from South Africa's Waterberg Biosphere Reserve to Kuno National Park in February 2023, arrived at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary after a road journey.

CM Yadav released them in the sanctuary at Basigaon Khemla this evening. He said four more cheetahs, proposed to be bought from Botswana in southern Africa, will also be released in Gandhi Sagar sanctuary.

"A new history has been written in Gandhi Sagar in view of cheetah relocation. Prabhas and Pavak were released. I want to congratulate the people of the state and country," Yadav said on the occasion.

Earlier, Yadav highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spearheaded a successful effort to reintroduce cheetahs to Asia in September 2022. The cheetahs were introduced in KNP on September 17, 2022. Due to that experiment, the growth of cheetahs is a matter of research for the entire world, Yadav said, adding that their growth rate in Madhya Pradesh is about 80 per cent.

"It is our good fortune that the most favourable conditions for the restoration of cheetahs in all of Asia exist in our country, particularly in Madhya Pradesh," he asserted.

The CM said his government will work for air and road connectivity, which will enhance opportunities for employment. "It was our project to gradually increase the number of cheetahs. We will be getting four new cheetahs from Botswana in May. We will try to release them here (Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary), which will take their number to six," Yadav said.

Earlier in the day, the two cheetahs were transported by road to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, located over 250 km from Kuno, where the ambitious intercontinental translocation of the big cats was launched nearly three years ago.

Eight Namibian cheetahs — five females and three males — were released into Kuno National Park on September 17, 2022, marking the first-ever intercontinental translocation of these big cats.

Twelve more cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to Kuno in February 2023. Currently, Kuno National Park houses 24 cheetahs, including 14 India-born cubs, while two have now been relocated to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.