Ahmedabad: Gujarat is completely prepared for the translocation of 10 cheetahs to the Banni grasslands in Kutch by the end of this year, a senior state government official said on Wednesday.
“We have introduced sufficient prey base in the region and have established all necessary facilities, including quarantine and soft release bomas (enclosures),” Jaipal Singh, Gujarat’s principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife), said.
A second official said the plan was to introduce five male and five female cheetahs.
“The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is in talks with three countries, including Namibia, South Africa, and Kenya, for reintroducing cheetahs in Gujarat. We are hopeful that by the end of this year, Banni will have 10 cheetahs in Banni,” the official cited above said.
The forest department has already introduced a prey base of 250 animals including spotted-deers and black bucks in the region, the official added.
The forest department also has set-up a 600-hectare enclosure in Banni, Kutch, for the breeding centre where the 10 cheetahs will be kept initially.
“The Centre has released ₹12 crore of the sanctioned ₹20 crore for the first phase for reintroduction of cheetahs. In the second phase, an area of 25,000 hectares will be readied for the cheetahs to be released in the wild a year or two down the line once the breeding programme is successful,” the official added.
{{/usCountry}}“The Centre has released ₹12 crore of the sanctioned ₹20 crore for the first phase for reintroduction of cheetahs. In the second phase, an area of 25,000 hectares will be readied for the cheetahs to be released in the wild a year or two down the line once the breeding programme is successful,” the official added.
{{/usCountry}}The Banni grasslands, along with the Kutch Desert Sanctuary, cover approximately 5,000 km² in the Kutch district of north-western Gujarat. The area lies south of the Rann of Kutch mudflats, and parts of it get inundated by seawater during the rainy season.
Cheetahs were last spotted in Gujarat’s Saurashtra and Dahod regions till the early 1940s.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) approved the establishment of a cheetah conservation breeding centre in the Banni grasslands last year, facilitating the reintroduction of cheetahs to Gujarat after decades.
Vantara, a Jamnagar-based rescue, conservation and rehabilitation facility of the Reliance Foundation, posted on Instagram that in collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department, it has reintroduced spotted deer into the Banni Grasslands.
“The introduction of spotted deer marks a key step in restoring ecological balance in Banni. As a committed partner, Vantara supports this effort with scientific expertise, veterinary care and technical support, working alongside the government to protect India’s natural heritage,” it said.
In December 2023, a proposal initiated by the Gujarat government and submitted to the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management Authority (National CAMPA) received approval from the executive committee of National CAMPA.
The country received its first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia in September 2020 into Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh as part of “Project Cheetah”. Thereafter another batch of 12 cheetahs were brought in February 2023 from South Africa. The project aimed to restore the cheetah population, which were declared extinct in India in 1952.
Eleven of them have survived, including two that were transferred to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in April.
Since the introduction of African cheetahs, 26 cubs have been born in India, of which 17 have survived.