Madhya Pradesh's Gandhi Sagar gets 4th cheetah as Radha arrives from Botswana
A three-year-old Botswana cheetah, renamed Radha, was released into a protected enclosure at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. Her transfer, initially from Botswana, and later from Kuno National Park strengthens Project Cheetah's multi-site expansion and future breeding plans.
The population of cheetahs at Madhya Pradesh's Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, the second site in India under Project Cheetah, rose to four on Sunday with the arrival of a three-year-old female from Botswana. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav rechristened cheetah CCB-2 as Radha before releasing her into a protective enclosure at the sanctuary.
With Radha's arrival, Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary now has four African cheetahs – two males and two females. Officials said the move is part of Project Cheetah's long-term plan to establish cheetah populations at multiple sites instead of concentrating them only at Kuno National Park.
Radha was shifted from Kuno National Park, the first home of cheetahs in India under the translocation project, and released into an enclosure separate from the three South African cheetahs already at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
The other cheetahs at the sanctuary are the males Prabhas and Pawak, and the female Dheera.
Prabhas and Pawak were shifted from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in April 2025, while Dheera was translocated to the sanctuary in September 2025. Officials said all four cheetahs are being kept in separate enclosures, with Radha's enclosure located away from those housing the South African cheetahs.
Officials said the presence of cheetahs from South Africa and Botswana at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary will help maintain genetic diversity through breeding between animals from different genetic lines.
They said India now has 56 cheetahs, including the four at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and 52 African cheetahs and their India-born cubs at Kuno National Park.
Another site, Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region, has also been prepared with five secured enclosures to receive cheetahs. The intercontinental cheetah programme was launched in September 2022 to revive the species in India after cheetahs became extinct in the country seven decades ago.
Under the project, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia in September 2022, followed by 12 from South Africa in February 2023.
A third batch of nine cheetahs arrived from Botswana at Kuno National Park on February 28 this year, and Radha's move to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary marks the latest step in expanding the project beyond Kuno.