Get ready for a wild spectacle! Gujarat’s sprawling Banni Grasslands, the largest of its kind in the Indian subcontinent, is primed to welcome cheetahs as part of India’s ambitious Project Cheetah, officials announced today. This marks a thrilling step toward reviving the big cat’s presence in India, 70 years after their extinction.

Jaipal Singh, Gujarat’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), revealed that a state-of-the-art breeding center is ready, complete with a 600-hectare enclosure, CCTV surveillance, and a dedicated veterinary hub. “We’ve boosted the prey population with chital and sambar, installed protective fences to keep other predators at bay, and trained our veterinarians at Kuno National Park,” Singh told PTI. The grasslands’ savannah-like terrain mirrors the cheetah’s natural African habitat, making Banni an ideal new home.

While the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Cheetah Project Steering Committee will decide the timeline for translocation, Singh confirmed that quarantine and soft-release enclosures are fully operational. The Gujarat Forest Department, in collaboration with Vantara, a Reliance Foundation conservation facility in Jamnagar, has already reintroduced spotted deer to bolster the ecosystem. “This is a game-changer for Banni’s ecological balance,” Vantara shared on Instagram, highlighting their scientific and veterinary support.

Also Read: Gujarat Father Arrested for Murdering Daughter Over Son Preference

Banni is one of 10 sites selected for cheetah reintroduction, following Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, where 20 African cheetahs were brought from Namibia and South Africa since 2022. Of those, 11 survive, with 17 of 26 cubs born in India thriving. The next stop after Madhya Pradesh’s Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, officials say, is Banni, followed by Rajasthan’s Shahgarh Bulge.

Also Read: Tragedy in Vadodara: Gujarat Fast-Tracks New Bridge After Mahisagar Tragedy