MP sanctuary to be home as cheetahs return to India after 70 years

Cheetahs - the fastest land animal in the world - became extinct in India 70 years ago, but a wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh is set to welcome them back.

Kuno-Palpur National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district of MP could be the new home of these beautiful animals possibly from August if all go according to plan, authorities there said.

"We are working on it. Cheetahs will come to Madhya Pradesh in August," forest department's principal secretary Ashok Barnwal was quoted as telling PTI.


The park officials said the animals would be brought initially from South Africa under an intercontinental translocation project. Earlier this year, the environment and forest ministry had announced it was reintroducing the 'Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’.

Cheetahs, which are natives of Africa and Asia, can touch maximum speeds in the range of 80 to 128 kph at full sprint in the wild. One cheetah at a zoo in Cincinnati was recorded at 98 kph - that is, covering a distance of 100m in just 5.95 secs.

Kuno-Palpur National Park covers an area of 750 sq km and has many animals - cheetal, sambhar, blue bull, wild boar and langoor - the big cats can prey on. Hence it's perfect as a new home for the cheetah.

Cheetahs were abundant in the Indian subcontinent till a few centuries ago. Loss of habitat and hunting quickly reduced numbers. The last cheetah spotted in India died in the present Chhattisgarh region in 1947. In 1952, the wild animal was declared extinct in the country.