A bench of justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol told the Centre that from reports of experts and articles, it appears that KNP does not seem to be sufficient for such large number of cheetahs and the Union government may consider shifting them to other sanctuaries.
The cheetahs will be kept under one-month quarantine as per the norms.
While the Army will be getting around 100 light utility helicopters, it is also looking at the option of taking choppers on lease to meet its requirement.
A modified Boeing aircraft carried the cheetahs in special wooden crates during the around 10-hour journey.
A cheetah translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has given birth to four healthy cubs, officials said on Wednesday.
The Centre has set up an 11-member high-level steering committee to review and monitor the progress of the cheetah reintroduction programme and provide suggestions on the opening of the cheetah habitat for eco-tourism.
After being rescued, Oban was brought back to the KNP and released into the Palpur forest area, the official said.
The Wildlife Institute of India's former dean Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala, who was part of the cheetah project in the past, told PTI that KNP has 'inadequate space' for these animals.
Suraj was found lying still in Palpur East Forest Range's Masavani beat by a monitoring team on Friday morning.
The death of the more than four-and-a-half years old female feline is being seen as a setback to Project Cheetah, aimed at reviving the population of the world's fastest land animal in India, seven decades after they became extinct.
Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
A cloudburst triggered devastating flashfloods in the Harsil area of Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, with at least 8-10 Indian Army personnel reported missing from a camp in the lower Harsil region.
There are now 10 male cheetahs and as many females at MP's Kuno National Park.
Seven decades after they became extinct in India, eight Cheetahs arrived in the country from Namibia by a special flight on Saturday morning and were released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP).
It also said the cheetahs will be allowed to move out of KNP and will not necessarily be "recaptured unless they venture into areas where they are in significant danger".
Eight cheetahs from Namibia were released into the park in September last year as part of an ambitious project to revive the extinct cheetah population in the country.
As the door of its cage slid open, the first of the eight cheetahs brought to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park hesitated for a moment or two before stepping out onto the grass.
Thapar had strong reservations about Project Cheetah, India's initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild. He argued that India does not have the necessary habitat or prey base to support free-ranging cheetahs and that the authorities lacked experience in managing spotted felines in the wild.
A formal signing of an agreement is holding up their inter-continental translocation, wildlife experts have said.
Arjun Rampal pays tribute to Designer Rohit Bal.
Cheetah Jwala, earlier known as Siyaya, was brought from Namibia to KNP in Sheopur district in September 2022. She gave birth to four cubs in the last week of March this year.
The Madhya Pradesh forest department has asked the Centre for an "alternate" site for cheetahs currently introduced at the Kuno National Park, which has seen the death of two felines in less than a month, with officials citing lack of logistical support and space.
Female cheetah 'Daksha', translocated to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park from South Africa, died on Tuesday, a forest official said.
Experts are monitoring them from a hole in a loft near their quarantine enclosures to ensure least human intervention
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release cheetahs being brought from Namibia in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Saturday morning, an official said on Friday.
India is all set to introduce cheetahs from South Africa in a wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh by August as part of attempts to rehabilitate the species that had become extinct from the country.
When asked if the African cheetahs will adapt easily to the Indian habitat, she said that the species are adaptable and India has a history of their presence.
The successful first hunt by the cheetahs within 24 hours of moving to the larger enclosure has also allayed the park management's concerns about their prey hunting ability.
Three of the cheetahs have been born in June 2020, comprising two female and one male, while the second oldest of the lot is seven years and ten months old, they added.
Modi had released the first batch of eight eight spotted felines -- five females and three males -- from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno on his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the previous governments, saying that no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce cheetahs in India after they became extinct from the country seven decades ago.
After releasing cheetahs in special enclosures at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told 'cheetah mitras' (friends) to protect the carnivores and ensure that human-animal conflict is avoided.
The eight cheetahs flown to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) from Namibia in mid-September will be moved to an acclimatisation enclosure this month before being released into the wild, a member of the Centre's task force on the big cats has said.
The cheetahs, released in a bigger zone on Saturday, were together in the quarantine enclosure, the DFO added.
Cheetah will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said on Tuesday.
Discussions with South African authorities to translocate 12 cheetahs to Kuno are at an advanced stage
The large carnivore got completely wiped out from India due to their use for coursing, sport hunting, over-hunting and habitat loss.
The cheetahs looked cheerful and active on Monday, said the official who is part of the team keeping a close watch on the movements of the animals.
All the eight cheetahs looked fit and fine and drank water kept at their quarantine enclosure in the KNP.
He said the South African cheetahs will first arrive at the Gwalior Air Force base in MP on Saturday morning and 30 minutes later they will be transported some 165km away to KNP in Sheopur district by IAF helicopters.
