The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recommended setting up multiple district-level Cheetah Rapid Response Teams and adopting a landscape management strategy modelled on the Tiger Conservation Plan to strengthen long-term cheetah conservation in India.
The recommendations are part of the NTCA’s annual progress report, Bringing Back the Cheetah to India, which also calls for the implementation of the Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (MSTrIPES), a smart patrolling and monitoring system, across the larger cheetah landscape.
India currently has a total of 53 cheetahs, comprising 13 adults, 17 sub-adults and 23 cubs. Of these three were relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary from Kuno National Park. In February 2026, nine cheetahs were translocated to India from Botswana.
The report stated that Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary is subjected to various pressures including dense human population in surrounding districts. Livestock grazing is high, with about 88 cattle or buffalo and 45 goats or sheep per square kilometre.
Moreover, a state highway cuts through the Sanctuary. Fishing communities have settled along the reservoir, and the Gandhi Sagar township continues to grow right in the heart of the area.
The authorities said that communities like the Bhil, Gurjar, Banjara, and Thakur call the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary landscape their home, and their cooperation is crucial for the cheetah programme to succeed.
“Despite these challenges, Gandhi Sagar remains one of the most promising places in India to build a cheetah population for the long-term. The habitat is large, the ecosystem is diverse, and steps like predator-proof fencing are already in place. With continued work on restoring grasslands, boosting prey numbers, and building trust with local communities by the forest department and scientific inputs from authorizing agencies, this landscape could genuinely become a safe and thriving home for cheetahs in the years ahead,” the report said.
The report also recommended development of an integrated landscape management involving Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments. Recently, there have been occasions when Cheetahs entered Rajasthan’s forest.
“An MoU is being planned between the two states for the protection of Cheetahs. Hopefully, it will be signed soon,” an official said.
