Three years on, India’s cheetah reintroduction struggles with poor science, delays, and missed grassland goals. In September 2022, the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park was hailed as a conservation milestone. Five months later in February 2024, 12 more spotted cats arrived from South Africa. The initiative, branded Project Cheetah, carried lofty ambitions. It aimed not just to restore the world’s fastest land animal to India’s landscapes, but to revive open natural ecosystems (ONEs) — the grasslands, scrublands, and savannahs that are among the country’s most neglected habitats. By reintroducing a top predator, policymakers hoped to spark wider conservation attention, diversify India’s wildlife portfolio beyond tigers and forests, and make ecological amends for a human-caused extinction. The Cheetah Action Plan set out a clear roadmap: import 5–10 cheetahs annually for a decade, create a metapopulation across multiple states, secure and restore grassland hab...
Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus) has found a new home in Kuno, a tributary of Chambal river in the upstream. Over a year after a female gharial showed way to a safe haven to it's threatened reptile species, 25 gharials were released in the river , the lifeline of Kuno Palpur national park . Continued to be threatened by the illegal sand mining in National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary in Morena, the forest department decided to introduce the reptiles in the river. Five males gharials and 20 female-reptiles were released, said the divisional forest officer of Kuno wildlife division PK Verma .Besides, threatened chambal turtles were also released. Are Gharials Threatened by Illegal Mining in Chambal? One of the six female gharials, who was radio tagged in 2017 swam over 40 kms upstream last year for nesting in Kuno sand-bed. The scientist studying the reptile behavior revealed to the authorities about the female reptile’s journey leading to ...