India-Born Cheetah Delivers Four Cubs at Kuno as Project Cheetah Turns Four

An India-born female cheetah has given birth to four cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced on Friday.

The birth came a day after the cheetah reintroduction programme completed four years. The mother, identified as KGP12, is an Indian-born cheetah, making the litter a notable marker of the programme's progress.

In a post on X, Yadav described the development as a historic moment for Project Cheetah. He said the arrival of the cubs reflected the growing success of cheetah conservation in the country, and extended his congratulations to the Kuno and Project Cheetah teams.

The minister framed the event as a sign of hope and resilience, noting that four new lives had arrived four years into the initiative.

Project Cheetah began on September 17, 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight wild cheetahs brought from Namibia into special enclosures at the park in Sheopur district. The cheetah had been officially declared extinct in India in 1952, and the reintroduction effort was aimed at restoring the species to Indian habitats.

The latest births add to the programme's record at Kuno, where the focus remains on establishing a viable population of the world's fastest land animal.