BHOPAL: Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the home of India 's cheetah imports, has welcomed its first set of baby cheetahs as part of Project Cheetah.
One of the Namibian tigers named Siyaya delivered the cubs, who are reportedly in good condition.
Media reports said that officials involved in the conservation and reintroduction project express their joy and said the birth of the cubs is a positive sign that the big cats are adjusting well to their new environment in the Kuno National Park.
One of the first to share information about the birth of the cubs was Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, who took to Twitter to share a clip and a photo of the newborns
“Congratulations. A momentous event in our wildlife conservation history during Amrit Kaal! I am delighted to share that four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs translocated to India on 17th September 2022, under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji,” wrote Bhupendra Yadav.
He added: “I congratulate the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back cheetahs to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past.”
The same photo was also shared by Indian Forest Service official, Parveen Kaswan.
In 2022, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia and released into Kuno National Park as part of India's Project Cheetah, which aims to introduce and sustain a small population of Southeast African cheetahs in the country.
Five female and three male southeast African cheetahs, between the ages of four and six, were released in a quarantined enclosure on September 17, 2022.
Sasha, one of the eight-strong coalition, died on Monday. She was suffering from a kidney infection before she was brought to India, a press release said.
As of now, the seven other cheetahs are doing well in the park, which is still undergoing changes and developments to become a suitable habitat for the reintroduction of cheetahs into India's wildlife population.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also retweeted Bhupendra Yadav’s tweet and congratulated for the same.
