Sheopur (Madhya Pradesh), Sep 18 (IANS): In a major boost to the ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme in the country, an India-born female cheetah has given birth to four cubs at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, taking the country’s cheetah population to 56 and adding a new generation to the population established after the species was brought back to India.
The birth of the four cubs to KGP12 (name given for identification) came on Friday, a day after Project Cheetah completed four years, making the development particularly significant for the programme that aims to establish a viable and self-sustaining cheetah population in the country.
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav announced the birth on Friday and congratulated the teams involved in Project Cheetah and Kuno National Park.
“Four years, four new lives — a beautiful symbol of hope, resilience and the growing success of cheetah conservation in India,” Yadav said in a post on X.
KGP12 was born in India and is among the cheetahs that have successfully adapted to the country’s conditions following the reintroduction programme.
Her four cubs represent another addition to the India-born population and are significant for the programme’s long-term objective of achieving natural breeding and population growth.
With the latest births, the total number of cheetahs in India has risen from 52 to 56. Kuno remains the principal cheetah habitat, with 49 animals, while three cheetahs are currently housed at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
Before the latest births, 32 cheetahs had been born in India since the reintroduction programme began, underlining the importance of captive management, breeding and subsequent adaptation in the country’s landscape.
Union Minister Yadav also hailed the field teams for their continued efforts in implementing the programme, saying the latest development was a “truly historic and joyous moment” for India’s cheetah conservation efforts.
Project Cheetah was launched on September 17, 2022, when eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia and released into Kuno National Park, marking the return of the species to India seven decades after it was declared extinct in the country.
The programme was subsequently expanded with the translocation of cheetahs from South Africa and Botswana.
The focus has increasingly shifted from simply bringing animals into the country to ensuring their survival, breeding and establishment of a sustainable population.
The journey has also faced challenges, including the deaths of several translocated and India-born cheetahs, prompting closer monitoring, veterinary intervention and changes in management practices.
The latest litter comes as the programme enters its fifth year and seeks to expand the cheetah population beyond Kuno, with Gandhi Sagar already emerging as the second major cheetah habitat in Madhya Pradesh.
The birth of the four cubs is thus being seen as an important step in the programme’s transition from reintroduction towards population establishment, with India-born cheetahs now contributing to the next generation of the species in the country.
Yadav said the new arrivals reflected the collective efforts of the central and state governments, wildlife experts, veterinarians, forest officials and field staff working to establish the cheetah population in India.
