Kuno Palpur National Park

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh CM said that more cheetahs would be introduced to the Kuno Palpur National Park soon.

Details –

8 cheetahs arrived from Namibia and were released into Kuno National Park on 17th September 2022 by the Prime Minister of India.

About the Kuno Palpur National Park –

• Location — Kuno National Park lies in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh in Central India near the Vindhyan Hills.
• With an area of 748 sq. km, the park is located within the larger Kuno Wildlife Division.
• Initially established as a wildlife sanctuary, it was only in 2018 that the government changed its status into a national park.
• Named after the Kuno River (One of the main tributaries of the Chambal River) that cuts across it, Kuno is primarily a grassland region.
• Flora and Fauna — The protected area of the forest is home to the jungle cat, Indian leopard, sloth bear, Indian wolf, striped hyena, golden jackal, Bengal fox and dhole, along with more than 120 bird species
• Kuno National Park was selected under ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’.

Project Cheetah –

• World’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.
• Project Cheetah was approved by the Supreme Court of India in January 2020 as a pilot programme to reintroduce the species to India.
• Close to 50 cheetahs will be introduced into the wild over the next five years.