Banni Grasslands Gearing Up for Cheetah Reintroduction

New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) The Banni Grasslands in Gujarat, recognized as the largest grassland area in the Indian subcontinent and chosen as one of ten sites for cheetah rehabilitation in India, is poised to welcome the majestic cats. Officials communicated this readiness on Wednesday.

Jaipal Singh, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) in Gujarat, informed PTI that a breeding center specifically for cheetahs is operational, with ongoing efforts to boost the populations of chital and sambar deer. "We have completed all necessary preparations, including setting up quarantine and soft release bomas," he stated. However, the decision of when to transport the cheetahs will be made by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Cheetah Project Steering Committee.

Singh elaborated that a 600-hectare enclosure has been created with enhanced herbivore numbers, and infrastructure such as CCTV monitoring and a specialized veterinary center is in place. Fencing has been installed to prevent large carnivores from entering cheetah enclosures. Moreover, veterinarians received training at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, where the first translocated cheetahs from Africa were accommodated.

The initiative to introduce cheetahs in the Banni Grasslands considers the natural preferences of cheetahs, which include grasslands, savannahs, and scrublands, closely mirrored by Banni's habitat.

Vantara, a rescue and conservation facility based in Jamnagar and supported by the Reliance Foundation, recently posted on Instagram regarding their collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department to reintroduce spotted deer into the Banni Grasslands. The organization emphasized that introducing spotted deer is essential for restoring the ecological balance in Banni. "As an active partner, Vantara lends scientific, veterinary, and technical support, collaborating with the government to safeguard India's natural legacy," mentioned the post.

According to Singh, this initiative is a broader campaign focused on enhancing prey populations in Banni's arid grassland ecosystem.

Cheetahs are slated for introduction into the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh before their relocation to the Banni Grasslands. The Tiger Reserve was officially declared by the state government in September 2023 and spans across Narsinghpur, Sagar, and Damoh districts over 2,339 square kilometers.

An NTCA team assessed the reserve's preparedness in June, paving the way for subsequent cheetah introductions in Gujarat's Banni Grasslands and Rajasthan's Shahgarh Bulge region in Jaisalmer.

The action plan for reintroducing cheetahs includes ten sites: Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh; Banni Grasslands in Gujarat; Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary, Sanjay National Park, Bagdara Wildlife Sanctuary, Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve (formerly Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary), and Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh; Desert National Park and Shahgarh Grasslands in Rajasthan, and Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh.

This comes seventy years after cheetahs vanished from India, leading to the government's initiation of Project Cheetah to re-establish a sustainable population in the country. As part of these efforts, Kuno National Park became home to 20 African cheetahs—eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023. Out of these, eleven have survived, with two transferred to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in April. Since the introduction, cheetahs in India have given birth to 26 cubs, of which 17 have survived.

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