When Madhya Pradesh wildlife officials introduced cheetahs to Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar, they began with a blank slate.
Apex predators like lions and tigers were absent, leopards were moved out, and herbivores were brought in to give the cheetahs room to breathe, hunt, and establish themselves without having to look over their shoulders.
As the state government prepares the state’s largest wildlife sanctuary in Nauradehi as the third home of cheetahs, the fastest big cats on the planet will, for the first time, have to compete with an apex predator. Twenty-five tigers have already made Nauradehi their home since 2018. Add to that an estimated 100 crocodiles, Indian wolves, wild dogs and panthers.
For decades, this sprawling 2,339 sq km expanse of teak and thornbush has languished in the shadows of Madhya Pradesh’s more glamorous tiger reserves.
As Kuno National Park’s pioneering cheetah reintroduction project captures global attention, wildlife officials are quietly preparing Nauradehi to become India’s third cheetah stronghold. Dr A A Ansari, Deputy Director at Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, told The Indian Express, “Our prey base and grassland quality are excellent; that’s a clear indication of the sanctuary’s potential. Tiger was introduced here in 2018. From just two individuals, there are now 25, including cubs, which shows the habitat can support apex predators. We are working towards strengthening our grassland and prey base. In 2021, we brought chital from Pench and Kanha. Our antelope population is also good. We have predators like the Indian wolf, panther, and tiger already established here. There are currently no plans to shift them out.”
The decision marks a calculated gamble on a landscape that MP wildlife and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) officials describe as possessing “immense potential”, though one that will require transforming what has been “a neglected protected area”.
Spread across the Sagar, Damoh, and Narsinghpur districts, the sanctuary sits atop the upper Vindhyan range that straddles the Ganges and Narmada basins. Officials said an additional buffer zone of 925 sq km has been added across Damoh, Narsinghpur, and Sagar districts, coupled with a core zone of 1,414 sq km. To address staff shortage, a proposal has been sent to the state government to fill 30 vacant forest guard posts.
A senior NTCA official said, “Cheetah prey densities were reasonable in this area and the site was considered favourable for a reintroduction.” The ungulate density stands at 15.83 animals per sq km.
The prey base is diverse: The 2020 census recorded 4,788 nilgai alone, alongside 1,796 chital and 1,556 chinkara.
“Based on current prey density, the area could support 25 cheetahs,” officials said. “With improved management and reduced human pressure, that number could double to 52 individuals within the 750 sq km core area alone. The Nauradehi landscape could harbour over 70 individuals.”
A tender has been floated to construct the cheetah enclosures, where the first batch expected to arrive next year will be housed before their release into the wild. “We are building several critical facilities: a veterinary care unit, an animal rehabilitation centre for animals that need special care, a tiger and cheetah monitoring centre, and staff quarters. We have demanded Rs 8 crore from the Centre and received Rs 5.2 crore for these works,” Dr Ansari said.
This build-up of critical infrastructure is made possible by the relocation of villages. Out of 93 in its core area, 44 have been relocated outside the sanctuary, and 10 are in the process.
MP wildlife officials claimed their “assessment indicates that the local communities would prefer to relocate for better livelihood”. “Most of the population is living below the poverty line,” one assessment by the NTCA noted. The land lacks fertility, farmers cannot afford chemical fertilisers, and water scarcity defines the rhythm of seasons. The cost of relocation has been calculated at `80 crore to relocate approximately 800 families from the proposed core area.
Nauradehi’s greatest asset isn’t what lies within its boundaries, but what’s beyond them. The sanctuary “acts as a corridor for Panna Tiger Reserve and Satpura Tiger Reserve while indirectly connecting Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve via Rani Durgawati Wildlife Sanctuary”. NTCA officials say it could be a “potential stepping stone for population expansion that could, in theory, allow cheetahs to recolonise a vast swath of central India”.
Yet, optimism must be tempered with realism. “The sanctuary, bereft of any unique or mega species and off the beaten track, has always been a neglected protected area in Madhya Pradesh,” one NTCA assessment acknowledges.
“It would now have to be managed by handpicked staff, from the forest guard upwards,” officials said. The dry deciduous forest runs the risk of forest fires, which break out due to the actions of “graziers, mahua pickers and tendu leaf collectors”. Proximity to cities like Sagar and Jabalpur has also made Nauradehi vulnerable to “illicit extraction of teakwood and fuel wood”.
National Highway 12 slices along the southern boundary, while two major roads — Sagar to Jabalpur via Mohli and Tendukhera to Devri — “bring in a lot of disturbance”.
At the Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh 
Share
