Bhopal, Dec 3 South African female Cheetah Veera (Indian name) and her two 10-month-old cubs will be released from a large enclosure into the open forest of Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district on December 4.
Cheetahs will be released by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav during a ceremonial event to mark the occasion of International Cheetah Day on December 4.
Five-year-old female Cheetah Veera, who was among 12 Cheetahs brought from South Africa in February 2023, and she had littered to two cubs in February this year, and both survived.
He will also release the Kuno National Park (KNP) annual Calendar for 2026 and the field manual for clinical management of free‑ranging Cheetahs.
Chief Minister Yadav will inaugurate the newly constructed souvenir shop in the park, according to the government statement issued on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative brought the ‘Project Cheetah’ to Madhya Pradesh three years ago, when he released cheetahs at Kuno National Park on his birthday on September 17, 2022, to formally launch the project, after eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia.
After three years of the project, the combined cheetah population in Kuno and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary has increased to 32, reflecting significant progress of the project.
In a successful journey of three years of the project, five female Cheetahs have given birth on six occasions, demonstrating the project’s success and resilience, with cheetahs not only surviving but also steadily expanding their families.
"The main objective of International Cheetah Day is to raise awareness about declining Cheetah populations, habitat loss and poaching, while promoting global efforts for their conservation," the government said.
Additional Principal Chief Conservation of Forest (APCCF) and Director of the Lion Project, Madhya Pradesh, Uttam Kumar Sharma, told IANS that continuous monitoring of the Cheetah family will be carried out through advanced radio-tracking systems and dedicated field teams to ensure their safety and successful adaptation in the wild.
He further shared that the event will be held in the Parond Forest area of Kuno National Park, which is a designated tourism zone.
"The presence of the cheetah family in this area is expected to create new opportunities for ecotourism, increase public participation and interest in Project Cheetah," he said.
--IANS
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