NEW DELHI: A Namibian cheetah has given birth to three cubs at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, weeks after three cubs were born to another feline.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav shared the news on X, saying, “Kuno’s new cubs! Namibian Cheetah named Jwala has given birth to three cubs. This comes just weeks after Namibian Cheetah Aasha gave birth to her cubs.” He further said in the post, “Congratulations to all wildlife frontline warriors and wildlife lovers across the country. May Bharat’s wildlife thrive.” On January 3, Kuno National Park officials reported that Namibian cheetah Aasha had given birth to three cubs.
Before this, a cheetah named Siyaya had given birth to four cubs last March. However, only one of them survived.
Jwala, Aasha and Siyaya are among the cheetahs translocated to India from Namibia under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Project Cheetah’, aimed at re-introducing the only large carnivore species that went extinct in independent India.
The first batch of eight cheetahs was introduced in India in September 2022.
The second batch of 12 cheetahs was flown in from South Africa last February.