Kuno National Park, September 18 (Daily Kiran) : A female cheetah named “KGP12” has successfully given birth to four cubs at Kuno National Park, marking a significant achievement for India’s cheetah reintroduction project. This milestone comes just a day after the project celebrated its fourth anniversary. Experts view the birth of these cubs as a promising sign of the long-term success of the reintroduction efforts.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced the news, calling it a historic moment for Project Cheetah. He shared his excitement on social media, stating, “Four years, four new lives… a beautiful symbol of hope, courage, and the growing success of cheetah conservation in India.”
With the arrival of these cubs, India’s cheetah population has increased from 52 to 56. Currently, Kuno National Park is home to 53 cheetahs, while three reside in the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Notably, the number of cheetahs born in India has now reached 36.
KGP12, born in 2024, is the daughter of Gamini, a female cheetah brought from South Africa in February 2023. Her successful delivery represents a significant step forward for the program, as second-generation cubs demonstrate that the reintroduced species are adapting and breeding in Indian conditions.
Staff at Kuno National Park are monitoring the new cubs from a distance to ensure their safety. Project Cheetah was initiated on September 17, 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first eight cheetahs from Namibia into the park. Additional cheetahs were brought in from South Africa in 2023 and from Botswana in 2026.
Over the past four years, the project has progressed from facing initial challenges to entering a phase of stability, characterized by the survival of breeding females and their offspring. Wildlife officials and conservationists have welcomed the news, viewing it as a positive indicator of natural population growth.
The birth of these cubs reinforces hopes for a self-sustaining cheetah population in India, a species declared extinct in the country in 1952. The Kuno team remains committed to monitoring and managing the habitat to ensure the well-being of the new cubs and the expanding population.
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