BHOPAL: One of the African cheetahs introduced to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh is pregnant and is expected to deliver cubs soon, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav shared on micro-blogging social media platform X.
“Happiness is coming to Kuno… A female cheetah (Veera) is soon going to give birth to cubs at the KNP. This news is a symbol of the great achievement of the Cheetah Project. The project started under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi is proving to be continuously improving the ecological balance,” he wrote.
In total, 17 cubs have been born to the Namibian and South African cheetahs on the Indian soil since their induction at KNP in September 2022.
The inter-continental cheetah translocation project was devised seven decades after the animals were officially declared extinct in India due to excessive poaching.
Among all the feline family cubs, cheetah cubs are said to have the lowest survival rate, with only 5 per cent of them reaching adulthood.
Out of the 17 cubs born in India so far, 12 have survived, with the eldest of them being an 18-month female, Mukhi, which was abandoned by its Namibian mother, Siyaya, since its birth in March 2023.
The KNP presently has 12 adults and 12 cubs — all of them housed in enclosures.
The adult cheetahs will be released back into the free ranging forests of the Kuno National Park in phases, reportedly from end of this month.