Cheetah ‘Jwala’ brought in from Namibia has given birth to four cubs at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park and not three as was stated a day earlier, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Wednesday.
“Wildlife wonders! As frontline wildlife warriors managed to get closer to Jwala, they found she had given birth to four, not three, cubs,” Minister Yadav wrote on social media platform X.
“This has increased our joy several times over. Congratulations all. We pray the cubs thrive and prosper at their home in India,” the minister said.
The birth of cubs comes just weeks after another cheetah, Aasha, birthed three cubs at the same park.
Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952 only to be reintroduced through the ambitious project in 2022.
In 2022, eight Cheetahs – brought from Namibia – were introduced in India under Project Cheetah. Subsequently, twelve cheetahs from South Africa were also translocated and released in Kuno National Park in February 2023.
Last week, a cheetah translocated from Namibia, died at Kuno National Park. So far, seven adult cheetahs and three cubs born in India have died since March 2023.
In May 2023, the Supreme Court voiced concern over the death of the big cats and asked the Union government to file a detailed affidavit explaining the reasons behind the deaths and remedial measures taken to prevent the deaths.
Kuno National Park is situated on the Northern side of the Vidhyachal mountains and has an area of 344.686 sq km. It was named after a tributary of the Chambal River.