Eye on second baby boom, Botswana Cheetah released in MP’s Gandhi Sagar sanctuary - The Indian Express
With an eye on ensuring Gandhi Sagar National Park emerges as a second home for cheetahs in the state, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday released CCB-2 — a female cheetah brought to India from Botswana — in the wildlife sanctuary.
CCB-2, around three years old, has been relocated from Kuno National Park situated in the Gwalior-Chambal region of the state.
With her relocation, Gandhi Sagar now has four cheetahs — two males and two females. Wildlife officials hope the arrival of CCB-2 would help kickstart a new family of cheetahs considering the existing female cheetah has so far failed to mate with the two male cheetahs at this site.
Gandhi Sagar, spread across the Mandsaur-Neemuch region along the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border, became the country’s second cheetah habitat when two male cheetahs, Pawak and Prabhas, were moved there from Kuno in April 2025.
Speaking after releasing CCB-2, Yadav said the relocation was part of the state’s continuing efforts to strengthen cheetah conservation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Project Cheetah. He described the programme as significant not only for Madhya Pradesh but for Asia, pointing out that the cheetah had disappeared from the Asian landscape and had also become 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, according to the state government’s statement. He said the return of the species reflected the state’s commitment to wildlife conservation and its ethos of “live and let live.”
The release comes at a significant moment for Project Cheetah. On September 18, an India-born female cheetah, KGP12, gave birth to four cubs at Kuno National Park. The birth was particularly notable because KGP12 herself was born in India to a cheetah brought from South Africa, making her cubs part of a second generation born on Indian soil. The latest births took India’s total cheetah population to 56, according to reports citing forest officials and the Union environment ministry.
The four new cubs were born just a day after Project Cheetah completed four years. The programme began in September 2022 with the translocation of African cheetahs to India and has since expanded through births in the country as well as the development of additional habitats.
The latest move also gives Gandhi Sagar a more balanced composition of male and female cheetahs. “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,” said a wildlife official.
The development is significant because the long-term strategy for Project Cheetah is not limited to maintaining animals at a single site. Authorities have been working to create multiple suitable habitats and eventually establish a sustainable, interconnected population.
Gandhi Sagar is central to that effort. The sanctuary was selected as an additional cheetah habitat after Kuno, providing another landscape in Madhya Pradesh where the species can be managed and allowed to establish itself. The relocation of CCB-2, therefore, represents not merely an addition to the sanctuary’s animal count but an expansion of the geographical footprint of the reintroduction programme.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy. Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free. Expertise and Reporting Beats Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors: National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres. Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA). Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking. Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers. Professional Background Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017. Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh. Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs. Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife. Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance. Digital & Professional Presence Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
