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India has also proposed to African countries that it would support them if the cheetah population in those nations goes below a threshold level
The foreign experts had said cheetahs only drink blood and fluids from their prey, which makes up for their hydration and helps them go for extended periods of time without consuming water. Representational image/PTI
When South African experts first came to India’s Kuno National Park while cheetahs were translocated, they advised Kuno officials not to work on creating waterholes, as these felines are not known to drink much water. The Indian officials, wiser after Project Tiger, decided to nevertheless create multiple waterholes.
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To everyone’s surprise, the cheetahs started to drink water from these places and were often spotted near the water sources when in the wild. Indian officials say this shows how the foreign cheetahs have adapted to their Indian habitat, making many say that “Cheetah bhi peeta hai“. The foreign experts had said cheetahs only drink blood and fluids from their prey, which makes up for their hydration and helps them go for extended periods of time without consuming water. The monitoring teams in India have, however, spotted the cheetahs in Kuno near the water sources.
There was another incident which left Indian officials surprised. It was when a female cheetah, named Gamini, chose to travel nearly 70 km from Kuno National Park to the Madhav National Park, which is a tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Gamini did not walk alone; she took her four cheetah cubs along too who were 15 months of age. These cheetahs travelled for almost a week to reach the Madhav National Park and stayed there for a month in a tiger habitat. However, Gamini perhaps did not like it there and then came back with her four cubs to the Kuno park.
Government officials say this shows the mobility of cheetahs in the Kuno National Park. The released cheetahs have displayed an average daily movement of 4.28 km. Three cheetahs were shifted from Kuno to the Gandhisagar wildlife sanctuary this year, and they have also displayed a kill frequency of 3-4 days. As of September 5, 2025, two of these cheetahs have explored approximately 70% of the designated release zone. The authorities plan to capture black bucks from non-forest areas of MP for prey augmentation in the Gandhisagar wildlife sanctuary.
Interestingly, India has also proposed to African countries that it would support them if the cheetah population in those nations goes below a threshold level. The breeding probability of cheetahs in African countries is low, and the cub survival rate is also not high. This could act as a good insurance for countries like South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, and Botswana to participate in the cheetah translocation project with India, government sources have said.
About the Author
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office….Read More
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office…. Read More
September 24, 2025, 23:25 IST
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