New Delhi: One of the cheetahs translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh gave birth to four healthy cubs, marking a historic moment for India’s cheetah reintroduction project, news agency PTI reported.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav termed the birth of the four cubs as a momentous event in India's wildlife conservation history during 'Amrit Kaal'.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "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 (sic)."
The Union Minister congratulated the entire team of ‘Project Cheetah’ for their efforts in bringing back the carnivore to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past.
According to a senior official at Kuno National Park, the cubs were believed to have been born five days back, but were spotted by the officials on Wednesday.
`Siyaya', their mother, and the cubs are fine and healthy, said Sheopur divisional forest officer PK Varma. She has been kept in a big enclosure at the park as of now.
Notably, under the project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first batch of eight spotted felines, five females and three males, from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno on his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year. Twelve more cheetahs were translocated from South Africa and released into Kuno on February 18 this year.
The happy news on Wednesday came in the wake of the death of another relocated female cheetah at the park two days back. One of the Namibian cheetahs, Sasha, died due to a kidney-related ailment on Monday.
Notably, a female cheetah generally gives birth 90 to 93 days after mating. As Namibian cheetahs were brought to India in September, Siyaya would have mated after her arrival in Kuno.