Kuno National Park

Kuno National Park
Kuno National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
	Location in Madhya Pradesh Kuno National Park (India)
Location	Sheopur and Shivpuri districts in Madhya Pradesh, India
Nearest city	Gwalior, Shivpuri, Sheopur
Coordinates	25°40′00″N 77°10′00″E / 25.66667°N 77.16667°E
Area	748.76 km2 (289.10 sq mi)
Established	1981; 43 years ago as Wildlife Sanctuary; 2018; 6 years ago as National Park
Named for	Kuno River
Governing body	Divisional Forest Officer
Website	www.kunonationalpark.org

Kuno National Park is a national park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India. It derives its name from Kuno River. It was established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of 344.686 km² (133.084 sq mi) in the Sheopur and Morena districts.^[1] In 2018, it was given the status of a national park. It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.^[2]

History

Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1981 with an initial area of about 344.68 km² (133.08 sq mi).^[1] In the 1990s, it was selected as a possible site to implement the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project, which aimed at establishing a second lion population in India.^[3] Between 1998 and 2003, about 1,650 inhabitants of 24 villages were resettled to sites outside the protected area.^[1] Most of the inhabitants were Saharia tribal people. The villages were also home to Jatav, Brahmin, Gujjar, Kushwaha and Yadav people.^[4] An area of 924 km² (357 sq mi) surrounding the wildlife sanctuary was added as a buffer zone to human settlements.^[3] In 2009, Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was also proposed as a possible site for cheetah reintroduction in India,^[5] which has begun with eight of the animals released in September 2022.^[6]

Gujarat state had resisted the relocation of lion, since it would make the Gir Sanctuary lose its status as the world's only home of the Asiatic lion. In April 2013, the Indian Supreme Court ordered Gujarat to send some of their Gir lions to Madhya Pradesh to establish a second population. The court had given wildlife authorities six months to complete the transfer.^[7] In December 2018 the state government changed the status of the wildlife sanctuary to Kuno National Park and enlarged the protected area by 413 km² (159 sq mi).^[8]

In January 2022, environment minister Bhupender Yadav launched the action plan for reintroducing cheetahs in India, starting with Kuno national park.^[9] In 2022, the Indian government drafted a 25-year plan for Lion relocation within Gujarat state and not in other states. The Gujarat government has not carried out the Supreme Court's order since 2013 and resisted the relocation of lions to other states. According to Bhopal-based environmentalist Ajay Dubey plans to reintroduce African cheetahs in Kuno National Park is another way to escape the transfer of lions to the Kuno National Park.^[10] On 17 September 2022, five female and three male cheetahs aged 4 to 6 years arrived in Kuno National Park from Namibia.^[11]^[12]^[13]