Botswana-born cheetah CCB-2 released into Gandhi Sagar sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday released a female cheetah brought from Botswana into the Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary, a move aimed at building the park into a second home for the species in the state.

The cheetah, identified as CCB-2 and aged around three years, was shifted to Gandhi Sagar from Kuno National Park in the Gwalior-Chambal region. With her arrival, the sanctuary now holds four cheetahs — two males and two females.

Wildlife officials are hoping the new female will help establish a breeding line at the site, since the female already present there has not mated with the two resident males. "With the addition of the Botswana-born female, the sanctuary now has two males and two females, potentially providing a larger base for the population to establish itself there over time," an official said.

Gandhi Sagar, which stretches across the Mandsaur-Neemuch belt along the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border, became the country's second cheetah habitat in April 2025, when the males Pawak and Prabhas were moved there from Kuno.

Speaking after the release, Yadav said the relocation formed part of continuing state efforts to strengthen cheetah conservation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Project Cheetah. He called the programme important not only for Madhya Pradesh but for Asia, noting that the cheetah had vanished from the Asian landscape and had gone extinct in India.

"It is a matter of good fortune for us that cheetahs are once again roaming freely on the soil of Madhya Pradesh," Yadav said, describing the animal's return as a reflection of the state's commitment to wildlife conservation and its ethos of "live and let live."

The release comes at a notable juncture for the reintroduction programme. On September 18, an India-born female cheetah, KGP12, delivered four cubs at Kuno National Park. KGP12 was herself born in India to a cheetah brought from South Africa, making her cubs part of a second generation born on Indian soil. The births took the country's total cheetah population to 56.

The cubs arrived a day after Project Cheetah completed four years. The programme began in September 2022 with the translocation of African cheetahs and has since grown through births in India and the creation of additional habitats.

Officials have framed the long-term strategy as extending beyond a single site, with efforts focused on developing multiple suitable landscapes and eventually building a sustainable, interconnected population. Gandhi Sagar is central to that plan, and the relocation of CCB-2 expands the geographical reach of the reintroduction effort rather than simply adding to the sanctuary's animal count.