In February 2026, nine cheetahs flew from Botswana to India on an Indian Air Force aircraft, becoming the third batch of African big cats to join Project Cheetah since its launch in 2022. As of March 2026, India’s total cheetah population stands at 53, with 33 Indian-born cubs recorded — the 10th successful litter born on native soil. By any measure, the numbers tell a story of recovery.

But numbers, as conservationists know, are rarely the whole story.

A crowded park and unhappy neighbours

Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district remains the sole base of the project. As the free-ranging cheetah population grows, the park is coming under strain. A recent report highlighted mounting opposition from local livestock farmers near Kuno, who are losing goats — worth ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 apiece — to cheetah predation. One villager described being forced to abandon a wheat field because her animals were no longer safe.

Some scientists have gone further, calling for a halt to further imports. Their concern: an acute lack of habitat and prey within Kuno, which was never designed to hold a growing, free-ranging big cat population indefinitely. Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary has been identified as a future expansion site to reduce pressure and inbreeding risk, but no relocation has taken place yet.

The corridor question

The recent sighting of KP-2, a Kuno-origin cheetah, in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve adds a new dimension to the conversation. Natural dispersal is a healthy sign — but it also raises questions about whether India’s protected area network can accommodate cheetahs moving into habitats not designed for them, and about what happens when a cheetah wanders into tiger territory.

India’s ambition — to become the world’s only country hosting five big cat species simultaneously — is being realised faster than the infrastructure to support it. The cheetah’s return is a conservation triumph. Making space for it to last is the harder work still ahead.