In 2022, it came to Kuno National Park as part of the first batch of eight Namibian cheetahs brought to India under Project Cheetah. It was among the first to step into the Kuno landscape, make a kill, establish a territory, survive competition with other males and, eventually, father a new generation of cheetahs born in India.

On Monday, nearly four years after making the journey from the African nation to India, Gaurav, the Cheetah, breathed its last at the wildlife sanctuary. It was a little over 10 years old.

Gaurav, originally named Elton, was among the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia to Kuno in September 2022. He arrived alongside Freddy, later renamed Shaurya. The two males eventually came to be known as the “Rockstars” of Kuno.

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Gaurav and Shaurya were released into the free-ranging area of Kuno on March 22, 2023. Within 48 hours, the two males made a successful kill — a landmark moment for Project Cheetah and, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, the first recorded cheetah hunt in India in more than 70 years.

Originally called Elton and Freddy, the two Namibian cheetahs became Gaurav and Shaurya, respectively, after coming to Kuno. Shaurya died in 2024

The pair, subsequently, established a territory around their release area and emerged as one of the prominent male coalitions in Kuno.

Their time in the wild was not without challenges. Gaurav and Shaurya encountered another male coalition, Agni and Vayu, in what became one of the early tests of the newly introduced cheetahs as they competed for territory. Gaurav survived those encounters.

But in January 2024, Shaurya was found weak and staggering. It died during treatment, leaving Gaurav without his long-time coalition partner. At the time, forest officials said Gaurav would be closely monitored and that his subsequent management would depend on his health and other factors.

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Gaurav’s significance to the programme went beyond his survival in the wild. In April 2025, he fathered five cubs with Nirva, a female cheetah brought to India from South Africa. The litter was notable because it represented the first birth at Kuno involving a Namibian father and South African mother, bringing together the two African lineages that had been used to establish India’s new cheetah population.

Final days

Gaurav’s final days, however, were marked by a sharp deterioration in his health. It was rescued from the wild on September 12 after being observed to be weak and dull. Veterinary examination found “marked weakness, visible muscle wasting and severe dehydration.” He was given “systemic and supportive treatment and moved to Palpur (inside Kuno), where he was kept in a quarantine boma for close observation,” said a senior wildlife official.

A preliminary examination indicated a possible underlying chronic condition. Despite treatment, Gaurav’s condition deteriorated and it died around 4 pm on Monday, the Field Director of the Cheetah Project said.

The exact cause of death will be established after a post-mortem examination and analysis of samples collected from the animal.

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Gaurav’s death leaves the authorities with another post-mortem to examine as Project Cheetah moves into its fifth year. Kuno now has 51 cheetahs, including 36 Indian-born animals, with 16 currently ranging freely in the wild. Four more cheetahs are at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, taking India’s total cheetah population to 55, according to the latest official statement.