On a windy afternoon in late January 2025, the sun shines bright on the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. It offers some respite from the cold for Baluram Meena and Narendra Bagdi, who are cleaning inside a quarantine boma (QB), an enclosure that will soon host the fastest land animal on earth, the cheetah.
Meena has been a permanent staff member at the sanctuary for 36 years, while Bagdi joined as a temporary worker three months ago. They are accompanied by deputy ranger Dinesh Kushwaha. As Bagdi continues his work, Meena and Kushwaha walk through the six QBs that have been prepared with solar electric fences.
Each with an area of 30x50 metres, the QBs cater to the adaptability needs of the cheetahs when they arrive in their new home. Two more such enclosures, treatment QBs (TQBs), are also being prepared near a hospital wing for the cheetahs to recover after any treatment they undergo.
In the past three years, cheetahs have been a much-talked-about subject in India. Declared extinct from India in 1952, they were brought back to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park in September 2022. Now, Kuno has 26 cats. Eight were first introduced from Namibia; then 12 were flown in from South Africa, as part of the Union government’s Project Cheetah. Seven cheetahs roam in the Kuno wild, while in February, two cubs were born in captivity.
With preparations nearly complete at Gandhi Sagar, six to eight cheetahs are set to be brought in from South Africa as officials say the formalities are in the final stages and that the cats have been identified.
Mandsaur district forest officer (DFO) Sanjay Raikhere says while a date is not fixed, the cheetahs are expected to arrive before summer. “Otherwise, it may be a little difficult for them to directly adapt to the rising temperatures here,” he explains. “The plan is to bring four females and two males, but if any of the selected male cats has formed a coalition with their siblings, they will be brought together and can be accommodated in a single QB,” he says, adding that males form early bonds, while females prefer to be solitary.
Safety in the details
Each QB at Gandhi Sagar has mud mounds about 5 feet high because the big cat likes to rest at a height, but it also has L-shaped sheds covered with green curtains and mud flooring in case the animal wants to be in a cooler place. The roof of the shed, made of bamboo and dry grass, is another option, and bamboo ladders will be installed for it to reach the top. Each QB has a water saucer fed by an underground pipeline. This is designed keeping in mind the cheetah’s sitting position, a little different to other felines.
There are two layers of entries into each QB and the gates can be operated remotely, for the safety of the staff. There is also a cage for the staff to put prey in and get out before lifting the barrier so that the cheetah can enter and eat.
There is one surveillance camera in each of the QBs and two high-mast 360-degree cameras, with each covering three QBs to monitor the cheetahs and observe their behaviour. A control room has been prepared in the hospital wing where the camera feeds will be monitored 24x7.
The cage to be used by the staff to put prey in and get out before lifting the barrier so that the cheetah can enter and eat. | Photo Credit: A.M. Faruqui
As Kushwaha explains the attention to detail, he talks about two tree trunks close to the fencing being wrapped in smooth fibre sheets so the cheetahs don’t jump on the tree and make their way out. The QBs also have electric fences powered by solar energy to prevent any other predator from entering.
Raikhere says upon their arrival, the cheetahs will spend at least a month inside the QBs as they may be vulnerable to infection or new diseases. “We will constantly monitor their behaviour and health and they will only be released in the larger 64 sq km enclosure based on their adaptability,” he says, adding that if required, the quarantine period may be extended.
In January, a seven-member team of experts from institutions like the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Delhi; Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly; and State Forest Department visited Gandhi Sagar to inspect the preparedness.
At the two TQBs, Arjun Gurjar is among the workers moulding sharp wires poking out in the inner fencing. Raikhere says this was one of the recommendations from the expert team to avoid any injuries to the wild cats.
History and geography
Gandhi Sagar is spread across 368.62 sq km, with the Chambal river cutting it in half. While the east range falls in Mandsaur district, the west range is in the neighbouring Neemuch district. The sanctuary, on Madhya Pradesh’s border with Rajasthan, first notified in 1974, is part of the larger Mandsaur Forest Division. Another notification in 1983 increased the sanctuary’s area to its current size. Gandhi Sagar was chosen as the cheetah’s second home due to its rocky terrain, exposed sheet rock, and shallow topsoil, creating a savanna-like habitat with grasslands similar to what the cheetahs are used to, say officials.
Raikhere brings up the region’s local belief that cheetahs lived here before they vanished. These originate from Chaturbhuj Nala, prehistoric rock shelters, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The site near the sanctuary has artwork depicting various aspects of human life. Among them is a painting of a man pointing a bow and arrow at an animal with spots on its body. Locals believe this is a cheetah.
A painting in Mandsaur believed to be signs of cheetahs’ historical existence in the region. | Photo Credit: A.M. Faruqui
Mandsaur District Collector Aditi Garg says, “People here take pride in the region’s rich history. It is not the introduction but re-introduction of cheetahs.”
Once the cheetahs settle in, they will be let into a boma, a ‘soft release’ enclosure of 64 sq km. This is bordered by the backwaters of the Gandhi Sagar dam on one side, the Chambal river on another, and electric fencing on the other two. Surrounding the boma are cliffs and gentle slopes. The fencing and natural barriers will keep predators like leopards, striped hyenas, and grey wolves away.
Prey and predators
Some 4 km from the QBs is a herbivore enclosure where several chital (spotted deer) herds are grazing. Chitals, nilgais, chinkaras (Indian gazelles), and hare are part of the prey. While chinkaras and hare are native to the region, 387 chitals have been brought from the Narsinghgarh Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kanha National Park in the past few months and released into the three herbivore enclosures. Nilgai is also found in the region and often destroys crops. Garg says locals have proposed that nilgai be used as prey for the cheetahs. There are two more herbivore enclosures in the boma.
As per a recent population assessment of prey and predators at Gandhi Sagar by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), there are currently 443 chinkaras, 261 nilgai, and 109 hare inside the boma. This is a shortfall. An insufficient prey base is going to be a major challenge. A cheetah family is expected to make a kill every three or four days.
A herd of cheetals, one of the animal species being brought in as cheetah prey, at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. | Photo Credit: A.M. Faruqui
Leopards are the main predators in the region. As per the WII in early 2024, there were 22-24 of them inside the boma. Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests [PCCF] (Wildlife), Subharanjan Sen, who is also a member of the Union government’s Cheetah Project Steering Committee (CPSC), says 10-12 leopards have already been captured.
Some of these leopards have been relocated to other sanctuaries in the State. However, a Forest Department compliance report from 2024 shows of the five released in the east range, on the other side of the Chambal, “…two of them (a male and a female) again entered the cheetah enclosure through crossing the Chambal river”.
Kushwaha points out that the stretch crossed by one of the two big cats is about 250 metres and has sizeable numbers of crocodiles. “Leopards are not known to be great swimmers,” he says, stressing that the act shows reluctance in leaving its territory.
Cheetah and leopards, however, can coexist if adequate prey base and other resources are available, as per the NTCA’s Action Plan for the Introduction of Cheetah in Gandhi Sagar.
Neighbour’s grouse
Close to the herbivore enclosure are signs of human habitation: a temple, a government building, and some broken houses. Karanpura village is the only one that fell within the 64 sq km area of the boma. It now lies deserted as nearly 280 families that lived here were moved to make way for the cheetahs.
Begun in 2013, Raikhere says the relocation process “picked up pace in 2015-16 after some initial resistance from the residents”. The people were relocated as the village fell in the middle of the sanctuary.
Compensation was given to all families and most moved to Rajasthan. Ramesh Meghwal, 43, who had to move out of Karanpura with his wife and two children, now lives in Kheda Buj village of Neemuch district, about 500 metres from the boma fencing. He contends that the compensation was not enough as most of the money was spent on resettlement.
On the locals’ concerns, Raikhere says the Collector has initiated an outreach programme under which senior officials of various departments will be create awareness among the residents and address their concerns.
The villages close to the boma are mainly occupied by Gurjar, Banjara, and tribal Bhil communities, whose main occupation is dairy production. Locals, however, say the fencing and other restrictions in the area have hampered their livelihood as the cheetah home now acts as a barrier between them and their cattle’s main source of water, the Chambal.
At a tea shop barely 100 metres from the boma fence, Dhoolchand Banjara, 63, of Dayli village, says the cattle also struggle to find adequate grass to graze on. “Most good grazing patches are now inside the fence, so they don’t have proper food now,” he says, starting his motorcycle.
In Chainpuriya village, a group of locals is gathered on the roadside. Among them are Kamal Gurjar, 29, and his turban-clad father Gopalji Gurjar, 50. Kamal says, “The Chambal river is barely 3 km from the village and down a gentle slope. Earlier, our cattle could easily graze and drink water and come back by evening. The other water source is at least 15 km on the opposite side and even if some cattle reach there, it is very difficult for them to go down the steep slope to reach the water.”
Residents of Chenpuriya village in Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh, whose livelihoods have been affected by the arrival of the cheetahs. | Photo Credit: A.M.FARUQUI
The gathering is right outside the house of Prahlad Gurjar, who walks out of his gate and joins the discussion. Prahlad says milk production has come down to nearly half in the past one year. “I have about 50 cows and buffaloes that used to give about 100 litres of milk every day. It has now come down to around 50 litres because there is not enough water and adequate food for them,” he says, adding that most people have to tie buckets to their motorbikes and bring water from far off.
The locals also allege that the Forest Department has released some leopards that pose a threat to their cattle. Kanko Bai, 52, of Khemla village, is sitting on the roadside with some other women and children, waiting for a bus. She speaks Marwari and her teen grandson translates. “The threat of leopard attacks on our cattle was always there, but of late their frequency has increased. They have even been spotted inside the village sometimes,” she says, adding that four of her buffaloes have died due to lack of food and water.
Back in the QBs, Meena is excited, but says, “People are saying, ‘Sona dekar, kathir laa rahe hain (They are giving away gold and bringing silver)’.” Leopards are gold and cheetahs silver, due to their size.
mehul.malpani@thehindu.co.in
This story has been edited by Sunalini Mathew.
Published - February 09, 2025 08:13 pm IST
