Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Project Cheetah — Gandhi Sagar National Park

Tags: Prelims Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Indian Express

Context: CCB-2, a ~3-year-old female cheetah brought from Botswana, was relocated from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
Gandhi Sagar now has 4 cheetahs: 2 males + 2 females.
Gandhi Sagar National Park: Located in Mandsaur–Neemuch region, along the Madhya Pradesh–Rajasthan border.
Became India’s second cheetah habitat after Kuno; two males, Pawak and Prabhas, were moved there from Kuno in April 2025.
Project Cheetah: India’s programme for reintroducing cheetahs after their extinction in India; implemented under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Cheetahs have been brought to India primarily from Namibia and South Africa, with Botswana also contributing animals.
Kuno National Park: Located in the Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh; the primary site of Project Cheetah.
KGP12, an India-born female cheetah at Kuno, gave birth to 4 cubs on September 18, 2026.
KGP12 was herself born in India to a cheetah brought from South Africa, making her cubs part of the second generation born in India.
Reported total cheetah population in India: 56.
Cheetah status: The Asiatic cheetah survives only in Iran; the cheetah became extinct in India in 1952. India’s reintroduction programme therefore involves African cheetahs, not the Asiatic subspecies.

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding Project Cheetah and India’s cheetah population:

Gandhi Sagar National Park is the second site in India to receive cheetahs under Project Cheetah after Kuno National Park.
The cheetahs currently being reintroduced in India belong to the Asiatic subspecies, whose only surviving wild population is in Iran.
The recent cubs born to KGP12 represent the second generation of cheetahs born in India.
Botswana is among the African countries that have contributed cheetahs to India’s reintroduction programme.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1, 3 and 4 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Gandhi Sagar became India’s second cheetah habitat after Kuno.
Statement 2 is incorrect: India is reintroducing African cheetahs, primarily from Namibia and South Africa. The Asiatic cheetah survives only in Iran.
Statement 3 is correct: KGP12 was born in India to a South African-origin cheetah; her cubs therefore constitute the second generation born in India.
Statement 4 is correct: Botswana has also contributed cheetahs to India.