Sheopur (Madhya Pradesh): Cheetah Gamini gave birth to five cubs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on Sunday. Bhupender Yadav, union cabinet minister for environment, forest & climate change took to his social media to give the information.
Female cheetah Gamini, aged about 5 years, was brought from Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa, under the Cheetah Relocation Project.
“Congratulations to all, especially the team of forest officers, vets, and field staff who have ensured a stress-free environment for cheetahs, which has led to successful mating and birth of the cubs. The total number of cheetahs, including cubs in Kuno National Park, is 26,” Bhupender wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
"This takes the tally of the Indian born cubs to 13. This is the fourth cheetah litter on Indian soil and the first litter of cheetahs brought from South Africa," Yadav added.
Earlier, in January this year, Namibian female cheetah Jwala gave birth to four cubs. The total number of cheetahs at Kuno National Park including cubs has now reached 26.
The Cheetah Project
As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Project Cheetah," which aims to reintroduce the only major carnivore species that went extinct in independent India, cheetahs from Namibia have been translocated to India, including Jwala, Aasha, and Siyaya. Further in the project, in February of last year, a second group of twelve cheetahs arrived by air from South Africa.
