{"id":32050,"date":"2025-04-15T05:48:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T00:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=32050"},"modified":"2025-04-16T18:49:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:19:30","slug":"cheetah-relocation-from-kuno-to-gandhi-sagar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/cheetah-relocation-from-kuno-to-gandhi-sagar\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheetah Relocation from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Cheetah Relocation from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar Latest News<\/h2>\n<p>Recently, the Cheetah Project Steering Committee officially approved the relocation of some cheetahs from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.<\/p>\n<h2>About Cheetah Relocation from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Cheetah Project Steering Committee<\/strong> was set up in <strong>May 2023<\/strong> by the <strong>National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)<\/strong> to <strong>review, monitor, and advise<\/strong> on the cheetah reintroduction program.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Project Cheetah<\/strong> began in <strong>2022<\/strong> with the <strong>translocation of 8 cheetahs from Namibia<\/strong> and <strong>12 from South Africa<\/strong> to <strong>Kuno National Park<\/strong>. Still, the project has faced setbacks, with <strong>8 adult cheetahs and 5 cubs<\/strong> dying so far.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary<\/strong> has been identified as a key part of establishing a <strong>cheetah meta-population of 60\u201370 individuals<\/strong> across the <strong>Kuno\u2013Gandhi Sagar landscape<\/strong>, which stretches across <strong>Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>As of now, there are <strong>26 cheetahs at Kuno<\/strong>, of which <strong>17 are in the wild<\/strong> and <strong>9 are still inside large enclosures<\/strong>. It is <strong>yet to be decided<\/strong> whether the relocated cheetahs will come from the wild or enclosures.<\/li>\n<li>According to forest officials, <strong>prey species at Gandhi Sagar<\/strong> currently include <strong>chinkara<\/strong>, <strong>chousingha<\/strong>, <strong>nilgai<\/strong>, and <strong>chital<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About Cheetahs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cheetahs breed year-round<\/strong>, with peak breeding during the <strong>rainy season<\/strong>. <strong>Females reach sexual maturity<\/strong> between <strong>20\u201324 months<\/strong>, while <strong>males mature later<\/strong>, at <strong>24\u201330 months<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>gestation period<\/strong> of a cheetah is approximately <strong>90\u201395 days<\/strong>, and they typically give birth to <strong>3\u20135 cubs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cheetahs do not roar<\/strong> like other big cats; instead, they <strong>communicate using high-pitched chirps, barks, and stutter barks<\/strong> to establish presence or territory.<\/li>\n<li>They are <strong>solitary animals<\/strong> and use <strong>urine sprays<\/strong>, <strong>cheek rubbing<\/strong>, and <strong>scratch marks<\/strong> on trees to <strong>mark territory<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Cheetahs are the <strong>fastest land animals<\/strong>, capable of reaching speeds up to <strong>120 km\/h<\/strong> and can <strong>accelerate from 0 to 100 km\/h in just 3 seconds<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>During hunting, they employ a <strong>unique tripping technique<\/strong> using their <strong>semi-retractable claws<\/strong> to destabilise prey, though their <strong>hunting success rate<\/strong> is only <strong>40\u201350%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Protection Status of Cheetahs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Cheetahs are listed as <strong>Vulnerable<\/strong> on the <strong>IUCN Red List<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>They are protected under <strong>Schedule II<\/strong> of the <strong>Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>They are also included in <strong>Appendix I<\/strong> of the <strong>Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)<\/strong>, offering the highest level of protection from international trade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>African vs Asiatic Cheetah<\/h3>\n<figure class=\"table\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Distribution<\/strong>: Across <strong>Northwest, East, and Southern Africa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Physical Traits<\/strong>: <strong>Larger build<\/strong>, <strong>robust neck and legs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fur<\/strong>: <strong>Golden-brown<\/strong>, denser coat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Status<\/strong>: <strong>Vulnerable<\/strong> (IUCN).<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Distribution<\/strong>: <strong>Critically endangered<\/strong>, limited to <strong>Iran<\/strong> (only <strong>12 individuals<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Physical Traits<\/strong>: They are <strong>more slender<\/strong> and <strong>smaller<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fur<\/strong>: <strong>Buff\/light fawn<\/strong>, with <strong>extra fur<\/strong> on the neck and underbelly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Status<\/strong>: <strong>Critically Endangered<\/strong> (IUCN).<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Cheetah Relocation from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1. <\/strong>Why were cheetahs reintroduced into India?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> Cheetahs were reintroduced in India to restore ecological balance, as they were declared extinct in 1952, and the reintroduction aims to re-establish their role as apex predators in the grassland ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>From which country were the cheetahs relocated to India under Project Cheetah?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> Cheetahs were translocated to India from Namibia and South Africa under the Project Cheetah initiative launched in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>Which Indian national park became the site for the cheetah reintroduction?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was selected for the reintroduction of cheetahs due to its suitable habitat and prey base.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/panel-gives-nod-to-shift-cheetahs-from-kuno-park-to-gandhi-sagar-9944493\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cheetah Project Steering Committee was set up in May 2023 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to review, monitor, and advise on the cheetah reintroduction program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":32051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-32050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}