16 September, 2024
Banni Grassland
Fri 26 Jul, 2024
Context
- Under the next phase of Project Cheetah, the next group of cheetahs being brought from Africa may be sent to the Cheetah Breeding and Conservation Centre being built in the vast grasslands of Banni in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
Banni grasslands
- Location: It is located along the northern border of Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat.
- Two kinds of ecosystems are found here: wetlands and grasslands
- It accounts for approximately 45% of the pastures in the state.
- The area is rich in flora and fauna, with 192 species of plants, 262 species of birds.
- Banni Buffalo (Kutchi): Endemic to this region
- Local Tribes: Jat, Mutwa and Hingora tribes
- Several species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians can also be found here.
Project Cheetah
- Project to reintroduce African cheetahs to Indian forests
- Launch: September 2022
- Rehabilitated in Kuno-Palpur National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh
- Declared extinct in India in 1952.