- Why in news
- On 28 June 2026, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav inaugurated a national workshop on tiger re-introduction at Alwar, Rajasthan. He also released the Annual Report of Project Cheetah (September 2024–December 2025).
- What it is
- Project Cheetah is India's programme to reintroduce the cheetah, which became extinct in the country. It is run by the Environment Ministry and led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was the first release site, with cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa.
- Cheetah report
- The Annual Report of Project Cheetah covers September 2024 to December 2025. It covers translocations, habitat management, veterinary care, community engagement and future priorities.
- Organiser
- The NTCA organised the workshop with the Rajasthan Government. NTCA is the body under the Environment Ministry that also leads Project Cheetah.
- Sariska recovery
- Sariska went from local extinction of tigers in 2005 to 56 tigers now.
- Tiger reserves
- The number of tiger reserves rose from 46 to 58 over the past decade.
- Community role
- Reintroduction succeeded in Panna and Sariska with local support, but not in Satkosia (Odisha) because community support was lacking.
- Kuno
- Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was the first site for the African cheetah introduction in 2022.
- Launch
- Project Cheetah was launched on September 17, 2022.
- Who runs it
- The Environment Ministry oversees it. The National Tiger Conservation Authority leads it.
- First site
- Kuno National Park is India's first cheetah reintroduction site. It offers suitable habitat, abundant prey and little human disturbance.
- Source countries
- Cheetahs came from Namibia in September 2022, South Africa in February 2023 and Botswana in February 2026.
- Botswana batch
- Eight cheetahs were donated by Botswana and reached Kuno in February 2026.
Don’t confuse with Reintroduction vs supplementation: Reintroduction restores a species where it went locally extinct (Sariska). Supplementation adds animals to an existing low population.
Don’t confuse with Source vs sink areas: Source areas have surplus animals that disperse. Sink areas lose more animals than they produce.
Don’t confuse with Asiatic vs African cheetah: The cheetah that went extinct in India was the Asiatic subspecies. The animals brought to Kuno are African cheetahs, from Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
Species and protected areas: 12 Prelims questions since 2013; they test legal status, location and the year of designation.
Why it matters
- Shows scientific reintroduction can restore locally extinct big cats.
- Supports ecosystem health through forests, watersheds and prey base.
- It aims to restore a lost large carnivore and its grassland habitat.
- It shows India's commitment to biodiversity restoration through international cooperation.
Problems
- Without community support, reintroduction can fail, as in Satkosia.
- Tiger and elephant landscapes need connectivity, and tourism must not harm local communities.
- Cheetahs need large, prey-rich areas with little human disturbance, and a single site may not hold them.
Way forward
- Use source-sink mapping and active management to guide translocations.
- Combine prey augmentation and habitat restoration with community participation.
- Add more release sites and manage the cheetahs as a connected population across them.
Put in your answer
Sariska recovery: Sariska went from local extinction in 2005 to 56 tigers today.
Satkosia: Reintroduction at Satkosia, Odisha did not succeed due to lack of community support.
Project Cheetah: Launched on September 17, 2022, as a species reintroduction effort led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q8Discuss Kunming-Montreal biodiversity framework goals and India's commitments and initiatives with examples.
- 2024Prelims Q25Which statements about lions, cheetahs and leopards' breeding, roaring and scent marking are correct?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements about tiger and cheetah reintroduction in India: 1. The National Workshop on tiger re-introduction at Alwar was organised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority with the Government of Rajasthan. 2. Tigers became locally extinct in Sariska in 2010. 3. Tiger reintroduction succeeded in Satkosia but failed in Panna for lack of community support. How many of the above statements are correct?
Which one of the following is the correct answer?
True or false?
1 of 7
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The Annual Report of Project Cheetah released at the Alwar workshop covers the period September 2024 to December 2025.
True. The report covers September 2024–December 2025.
2.The National Workshop on tiger re-introduction was organised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the Government of Rajasthan.
True. NTCA organised it with Rajasthan.
3.The number of tiger reserves in India has risen from 46 to 58 over the past decade.
True. Tiger reserves rose from 46 to 58.
4.Tiger reintroduction succeeded in Satkosia Tiger Reserve but failed in Panna because of lack of community support.
False. It succeeded in Panna and Sariska; it did not succeed in Satkosia.
5.Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was the first release site of Project Cheetah.
True. Kuno was the first release site.
6.The cheetahs introduced under Project Cheetah in 2022 were brought from Kenya.
False. The first cheetahs came from Namibia, with later batches from South Africa.
7.India achieved the St. Petersburg Declaration target of doubling its wild tiger population by 2022.
True. India met the target of doubling tigers by 2022.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Source: PIB, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change., 28 Jun, 14:28 IST · Release 290585
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.