Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said that Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve will become the new home for cheetahs in the State before the monsoon next year, following the successful translocation of the big cats from Africa to Kuno National Park.
The State cabinet has given in-principle approval to develop the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, located at Nauradehi in Sagar district, as the third habitat in the State for the world's fastest animal.
"We are building three large cheetah reserves. We have only released three cheetahs in the Gandhi Sagar Tiger Reserve. There could be 50. Nauradehi has just been approved (at the Khajuraho cabinet meeting). We're preparing an enclosure there. This will become a new home for cheetahs before this (next year's) monsoon," Mr. Yadav told PTI in an interview on completing two years in office on Saturday (December 13, 2025).
The first cheetah habitat was opened at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur in September 2022, and the second one at the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur in April this year.
Referring to the cheetah project, Yadav said, "The entire state is open to cheetahs. Just imagine their growing population within our state. India, and Madhya Pradesh within India, is the only place in the world where cheetah rehabilitation is successful. Many other states have tried, but none have succeeded." KNP is home to 28 cheetahs, and the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary has two big cats.
