Goats and cattle together make up 50%, while Chital (spotted deer) formed 42% alone of the detected kills by 19 free-ranging cheetahs under Project Cheetah in the Kuno National Park and wildlife division landscape, according to the latest Project Cheetah progress report, which also identified continuous prey augmentation and improvements in habitat as central to sustaining reproductive cheetahs and the growing size of cubs.
Reflecting dietary diversity and prey availability challenges faced by the project, the progress report for September 2024 to December 2025, released by the Union Environment Ministry on Sunday, noted that the dietary diversity reflects ‘ecological adjustments’, with evidence of small Indian civet kills, as well as opportunistic preying of birds and other small mammals.
India has 53 big cats under Project Cheetah.
“Continuous monitoring of the cheetahs, as found during the previous two years, showed that the main prey species hunted by cheetahs in and around Kuno NP was chital. In the free-ranging environment, chital accounted for 42% of detected kills, followed by goat (30%), cattle (20%), Nilgai (2%), hare, sambar, chinkara, sheep, and wild pig (1% each),” the report stated.
Free-ranging mothers with cubs, such as Jwala and Gamini, demonstrated higher hunting frequencies, indicating elevated energy demands, the report noted. “Notably, certain free-ranging groups exhibited predation on domestic livestock, particularly goats and cattle… underscoring the importance of proactive negative interaction mitigation and community engagement measures,” the report noted.
Free-ranging cheetahs expand territory beyond Kuno
Cheetah cubs at Kuno National Park. (File Photo)
Jwala and her cubs, released into free-ranging areas in early 2025, predominantly relied on domestic goat kills, accounting for 40%, followed by cattle and chital. Agni and Vayu, male cheetahs fed mostly on chital (39%), followed by domestic cattle (26%), domestic goats (19%), sheep (10%), and Nilgai and wild pigs (3% each).
Detailed tracking and analysis of their movements also showed the free-ranging cheetahs are moving far and wide, with some, like the male cheetah Agni, exploring a vast area of 3,198 sq km in the first 30 days since its release from the enclosed area. This was also witnessed recently in April as KP-2, a young male cheetah, made his way into Ranthambore’s tiger forest and had to be immobilized to get him back to Kuno.
Project Cheetah Director Uttam Kumar Sharma said it is natural for cheetahs to explore long distances and vast territories, and they have been found to have covered 12 districts, six each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
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On concerns regarding sufficient prey availability, Sharma told The Indian Express, “The prey density is healthy in the national park boundaries, especially in core areas, at around 23 chitals per sq km. However, in the territorial forest of the wildlife division, wild prey density is low. This is the region where the cheetahs prey on goats and cattle, in a multi-use area with competing interests from local communities. However, the kill trends are still developing, evolving, so they should be seen in that context.”
Kuno National Park in Sheopur district is spread over 748.76 sq km with adjoining forest areas falling within Kuno wildlife division, collectively covering 1,235 sq km, now increased to nearly 1,800 sq km. The national parks form part of the larger Sheopur-Shivpuri dry deciduous open forests spanning 6,800 sq km, and the Kuno River traverses the park area.
Initiated in 2022, Project Cheetah saw the introduction of African cheetahs in Indian grassland and dry forest landscapes in Kuno through the first intercontinental translocation. A founder population of 20 cheetahs – 8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa – was imported for the project. From 20, the population has now grown to 53, comprising 13, 17 sub-adults, and 23 cubs.
Along with Kuno, three cheetahs are also hosted at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Neemuch and Mandsaur districts, Madhya Pradesh.
