Project Cheetah: MP's Kuno National Park Welcomes 3 Cubs As Namibian Big Cat Gives Birth

A Namibian cheetah named Jwala that was released in Kuno National Park under Project Cheetah gave birth to three cubs.

A Namibian cheetah named Jwala gave birth to three cubs at Kuno National Park, situated in Vindhyan Hills in Madhya Pradesh. 

The news was shared on Tuesday morning by Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav on his X account.

"Kuno’s new cubs! Namibian Cheetah named Jwala has given birth to three cubs. This comes just weeks after Namibian Cheetah Aasha gave birth to her cubs," he tweeted. 

"Congratulations to all wildlife frontline warriors and wildlife lovers across the country. May Bharat’s wildlife thrive...," Yadav added.

The Environment minister also shared the video of the newborn cheetahs. 

On January 3, Kuno National Park welcomed three cubs that were born to Namibian cheetah Aasha.

While sharing the news about the same on X, the minister said, "This is a roaring success for Project Cheetah, envisioned by PM Narendra Modi to restore ecological balance."

He also congratulated the experts involved in the project, along with the Kuno wildlife officials and wildlife enthusiasts in India, while sharing the video of the three cubs.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for Kuno this month as it witnessed the birth of six cubs and also lost a Namibian Cheetah named Shaurya on January 16.

Jwala had also given birth to four cubs 10 months ago in March 2023, of which only one survived, reported PTI.  

'Project Cheetah' was started in September 2022, as part of which 20 adult cheetahs were relocated from Namibia and South Africa to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park in two batches. 

Under the first phase of the 'Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India,' eight cheetahs were released in the national park. The second batch of 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa in February last year, added PTI.

The project drew criticism after seven of the twenty cheetahs died since their arrival in the national park. Out of the seven adult cheetahs that died, four were males and three were females, reported PTI. 

According to details provided by an official, these deaths were a result of an unexpected development of winter coats by a few animals from June to September. The winter coat along with the humidity caused itching as a result of which the animals scratched their necks on tree trucks and grounds. This further bruised their skin where flies laid eggs and caused bacterial infections and septicemia after maggot infestations. This led to the deaths of three cheetahs in their first year in the Kuno National Park, reported PTI.

As per the Cheetah Action Plan, the mortalities have been within the expected limits as the authorities had anticipated 50 per cent mortality, stated PTI's report.

This project was aimed at re-introducing cheetahs to India's ecosystem as they had become extinct in the country after independence. PM Modi had called Project Cheetah India's "endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation."

Currently, Kuno has 20 cheetahs which includes six males, seven females, and seven cubs, PTI reported.