Nauradehi Sanctuary to become the third home for cheetahs in MP

Nauradehi Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh will become the third home for cheetahs in the state after Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. Cheetahs will be brought from Namibia, Africa, and released here.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that Nauradehi Sanctuary will become the third home for cheetahs in the state after Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. He said that cheetahs from Namibia, Africa, will be brought and released in Nauradehi Sanctuary.

Due to hunting and loss of habitat, the Asiatic cheetah became extinct in India in 1952.

The Government of India launched Project Cheetah on September 17, 2022, under which African cheetahs from Namibia were reintroduced in Kuno National Park (2022) and later in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary (2024).

Kuno now has 25 cheetahs, including nine adults (six females and one male) and 16 cubs born in the park. Nauradehi will now serve as the third site and will be the 25th wildlife sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh.

Other initiatives of the Madhya Pradesh government

On this occasion, six crocodiles—four females and two males—were released into the backwaters of the Indira Sagar Dam on the Narmada River. The Chief Minister also worshipped the river, considered the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh.

Officials said that under the wildlife conservation program, the six crocodiles were brought from Van Vihar in Bhopal and released into the dam’s backwaters.

Yadav further said, “The campaign for the conservation of gharials (Indian gharial) is also being run in Madhya Pradesh. Assam has requested gharials from us. We are going to send our gharials to Assam.”

The Chief Minister said that a formal announcement regarding the establishment of Omkareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary will be made soon. He informed that the Omkareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary will spread over a total area of 61,407 hectares in Khandwa and Dewas districts.

Nauradehi Sanctuary

This sanctuary is located between the Yamuna and Narmada river basins in the Sagar, Damoh, and Narsinghpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. Major rivers like Bamner, Kopra, and Berma flow through it.

Declared a sanctuary for the conservation of central Indian fauna, Nauradehi has mixed deciduous forests, Vindhyan sandstone formations, and a variety of soils (red, black, and alluvial).

It is home to more than 250 animal species, including tiger, leopard, bear, wild dog, chinkara, sambar, and blackbuck, as well as over 170 bird species such as crane, vulture, and partridge.

Gogabeel Lake in Bihar becomes the 94th Ramsar site

Gogabeel Lake, located in Katihar district of Bihar, has become another wetland of India to be designated as a Ramsar site of international importance. With this, the total number of such protected sites in the country has reached 94.

Bihar now has six Ramsar sites, ranking third in the country after Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, in terms of the total number of Ramsar sites under the global convention, India remains at the top in Asia and third in the world after the United Kingdom (176) and Mexico (144). Globally, there are 2,546 Ramsar sites.

This lake, which forms most of this site, is Bihar’s first community reserve, an oxbow wetland located between the Ganga and Mahananda rivers. During floods, the lake connects the two rivers.

He said, “With this recognition, the total number of Ramsar sites in the country has increased to 94, with 67 sites added in the last 11 years, covering an area of 13,60,805 hectares.”

Wetlands are land areas that are temporarily or permanently covered with water.

The last two wetlands included in the Ramsar list (92nd and 93rd)—the Gokul Reservoir in Buxar district and the Udaypur Lake in West Champaran district—are also in Bihar.