Bhopal: Four years after India launched its ambitious Project Cheetah, an unusual social bond has emerged at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Two young male cheetahs, KNG23 and CCB4, have formed a coalition despite being unrelated and separated by different origins. One was born in India, while the other arrived from Botswana earlier this year.
The two have been observed moving together, hunting together, sharing kills, grooming each other and responding collectively to territorial challenges.
Wildlife officials at Kuno say the behaviour is unusual because male cheetah coalitions are generally formed between siblings or closely associated young males.
“This is a very rare phenomenon,” said Uttam Kumar Sharma, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1999 batch from the MP cadre and director of Kuno National Park. He noted that the two males are unrelated and differ in age by around six to seven months, yet have accepted each other and formed a coalition.
How KNG23 and CCB4 Came Together
The formation of the coalition was not the result of a planned pairing.
KNG23 was born in March 2025 to a cheetah named Nirva. At around 16 months of age, the young male was separated from his mother and siblings after suffering an injury that required him to be isolated.
Around the same period, CCB4 arrived in India from Botswana on February 28, 2026. He had arrived without his sisters.
The two males were initially housed on opposite sides of a fence. Despite the separation, they repeatedly showed interest in each other.
KNG23 was later released into the wild with his mother, brother and sister on May 30. The family remained together for several weeks.
By late July, however, KNG23 was injured again. By then, his sisters had dispersed into the wild, leaving the young male once again in proximity to CCB4.
This time, the field team removed the fence separating the two.
Read also: Project Cheetah: India’s Cheetah Population Reaches 56 as India-Born KGP12 Gives Birth to 4 Cubs
Their First Meeting Was Over a Kill
The first significant interaction between the two males came around food.
According to Kuno officials, KNG23 and CCB4 shared a kill without displaying aggression towards each other. Neither attempted to drive the other away.
At that stage, however, officials did not immediately conclude that a coalition had formed.
Simply sharing a meal was not considered sufficient evidence of a lasting social bond.
The relationship subsequently developed further.
KNG23 began following CCB4 and sitting close to him. The two were also heard calling to each other when they were out of sight.
Soon, they were moving together, hunting together and sharing kills.
They were also observed grooming each other, another indication that their relationship was developing beyond simple tolerance.
From Tolerance to Teamwork
The behaviour eventually began resembling that of a conventional male coalition.
According to a wildlife official, the animals were no longer merely tolerating one another but were beginning to function as a team.
On at least one occasion, the two reportedly supported each other when confronted by a rival coalition.
For wildlife managers, this behaviour provides an opportunity to observe how flexible cheetah social behaviour can be under different circumstances.
Male cheetahs are known to form coalitions, but these are commonly associated with brothers or males that establish a bond when they are young.
Sharma explained that unrelated males may find it more difficult to remain together as they mature.
“If they form a coalition when they are very young, it can continue,” he said, while noting that maintaining such a relationship can become more difficult as unrelated males grow older.
That makes the future of KNG23 and CCB4 particularly interesting.
Why Male Cheetahs Form Coalitions
Coalitions can provide several advantages to male cheetahs.
Two or more males can cooperate in defending territory and confronting rivals. They may also have advantages while hunting.
“They are able to protect each other better, and hunting also becomes easier when there are two animals together,” Sharma said.
A coalition can also change the balance during encounters with rival males.
A lone male may be more vulnerable when confronted by multiple rivals, whereas two males acting together can confront competitors more effectively.
The social arrangement can therefore have implications for territory, access to resources and eventually access to females.
Kuno Already Has Other Male Coalitions
KNG23 and CCB4 are not the only male cheetahs displaying coalition behaviour at Kuno.
The park has a five-male coalition consisting of three older males and two younger ones.
The two male cubs born to Jwala have also formed a coalition.
Similarly, two of Asha’s three male cubs have remained together, while the third has separated.
These groups are beginning to occupy particular areas of Kuno and establish territories.
“The male coalitions, including Asha’s and Jwala’s males, are beginning to establish their territories,” Sharma said.
The females, meanwhile, are moving through and across these territories.
“The females are also moving across one another’s territories. They are criss-crossing these areas,” he said.
For the field teams, such movements are beginning to reveal elements of natural cheetah ecology that were not immediately visible during the initial reintroduction phase.
KNG23 and CCB4 Have Yet to Face the Wild’s Toughest Tests
Despite their growing bond, the two males have not yet experienced all the pressures associated with living independently in the wild.
Kuno officials said they are currently in a large enclosure and have not yet been released into the wild together.
Neither has yet faced a leopard or another major predator as a coalition.
KNG23 had previously spent time outside with his mother and siblings but was brought back to an enclosure after suffering an injury during a fight.
The next stage will therefore be important.
“Once they are released and we observe them outside, we will be able to see how they perform in the wild and how they respond to conflicts and other challenges,” Sharma said.
Their ability to maintain the coalition as they mature will provide further insight into whether unrelated males can sustain such a relationship under natural conditions.
Project Cheetah Enters Its Fourth Year
The unusual coalition has emerged as Kuno enters the fourth year of India’s cheetah reintroduction programme.
According to Sharma, each year of the project has brought a different conservation focus.
The first year concentrated on introducing the animals and ensuring their survival.
The second year focused on births and cub survival, with breeding becoming an important part of the programme.
The third year was largely about the young cheetahs growing up and being released into the wild, including mothers moving with their cubs.
The fourth year is increasingly about establishment.
“The first year was about introducing the cheetahs and ensuring their survival. The second year was about births and ensuring that the cubs survived,” Sharma said.
“The third year was mainly about the cubs growing up and releasing them into the wild… Now, in the fourth year, our main focus is for the cheetahs to gradually begin establishing themselves.”
Cheetahs Begin Establishing Territories
That process is already visible in the animals’ movements.
Kuno officials are allowing the cheetahs to use increasingly larger areas wherever possible, rather than restricting their movements unless necessary.
“Wherever the cheetahs are going, we want to allow them to use more area,” Sharma said.
The objective is for the animals to gradually establish their own territories and develop the behaviour required to survive independently.
The male coalitions are an important part of this process.
As they occupy different parts of Kuno, they are beginning to establish territorial ranges, while females move across those areas.
“This is a positive sign,” Sharma said.
From Reintroduction to Natural Ecology
At the time of the observations described by Kuno officials, the park had 49 cheetahs, while another three were in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, taking the project population to 52. Of the 49 in Kuno, 17 were living in the wild, with the remainder in soft-release enclosures.
The numbers represent one measure of Project Cheetah’s progress. But for conservation managers, the behaviour of the animals may be equally important.
The objective is not simply to maintain cheetahs in protected enclosures but to establish a population capable of moving, hunting, breeding, forming social relationships and surviving in Indian landscapes.
“The cheetahs are beginning to settle,” Sharma said.
“What we are seeing now is that some of the natural ecological behaviour that we would expect from cheetahs is gradually becoming visible in Kuno.”
The Bigger Test: Wild-Born Cubs and Independent Survival
The project’s longer-term objective is now moving beyond reintroduction and captive or managed breeding.
For the population to become self-sustaining, cheetahs will eventually need to mate in the wild, give birth in the wild and raise cubs that survive without intensive human intervention.
“Going forward, our main objective will be for mating to take place in the wild, for cubs to be born in the wild and for those cubs to survive in the wild,” Sharma said.
The unusual partnership between KNG23 and CCB4 is therefore more than an interesting behavioural observation. It offers wildlife managers another opportunity to watch how a reintroduced species adapts to its new environment.
Whether the two unrelated males remain together as they mature, successfully defend a territory and eventually reproduce will be determined by the pressures of life outside the enclosure.
For now, their shared kills, grooming, coordinated movements and mutual defence offer a rare glimpse of cheetah social behaviour unfolding in India.
