In another significant milestone for Project Cheetah, an Indian-born female cheetah has given birth to five healthy cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
The birth has taken India’s total cheetah population to 60, including 41 Indian-born cheetahs, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The 32-month-old female cheetah, identified as KJP21, is the third Indian-born female cheetah to give birth in the country, after Mukhi and KGP12.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav shared the development on social media and described it as an important milestone in the emergence of the next generation of India’s cheetah population.
The Minister said the birth of the five cubs also marks the beginning of the Botswana lineage in India, as their father is a Botswanan male cheetah.
He said the development adds a new genetic lineage to India’s growing cheetah population and marks another generation of cheetahs being born on Indian soil.
The Minister congratulated the veterinarians, field staff, managers and others associated with Project Cheetah, acknowledging their dedication and efforts towards the cheetah reintroduction programme.
The latest births add another chapter to India’s efforts to establish a sustainable cheetah population and strengthen the next generation of cheetahs in the country.