Namibian cheetah births 3 cubs: What is India's total cheetah count now

As part of the Centre's ambitious 'Project Cheetah', a total of 20 cheetahs were relocated to India from Africa. Of these, seven imported cheetahs have died since March 2023

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A Namibian cheetah named Jwala has given birth to three cubs at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced on Tuesday.

"Kuno's new cubs! A Namibian cheetah named Jwala has given birth to three cubs. This comes just weeks after Namibian cheetah Aasha gave birth to her cubs. Congratulations to all wildlife frontline warriors and wildlife lovers across the country. May Bharat's wildlife thrive," Yadav shared the news, in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The development follows after another cheetah Aasha had given birth to three cubs earlier this month.

In this time period, tragically, another male adult cheetah - Shaurya - lost their life on January 16. This takes the total death toll of adult cheetahs to seven now.

How many cheetahs were flown to India

As part of the Centre's ambitious 'Project Cheetah', a total of 20 cheetahs were relocated to India from Africa. The first batch, comprising eight Namibian cheetahs, were introduced in September 2022.

The second batch of 12 cheetahs was brought from South Africa in February last year.

Three cubs among 10 cheetahs have died

In a setback to the project, seven adult cheetahs, including 'Shaurya,' have lost their lives in the course of the project since March 2023. These deaths happened due to various reasons, including the unexpected development of winter coats by some of the big cats during the summer and the monsoon season in India.

The cheetahs, anticipating African winter, faced challenges in India due to high humidity and temperature because of their winter coats, leading to the death of three of them, according to officials.

In March 2023, Namibian cheetah Jwala also gave birth to four cubs. However, three of them died months later in May.

20 cheetahs remain including seven cubs

With the three latest members from Jwala, the total number of cubs at the Kuno National Park stands at seven.

Additionally, seven adult female cheetahs and six adult males remain alive.

Notably, two imported male cheetahs, Agni and Vayu, have already been released in the tourist zone of the KNP, located in MP's Sheopur. They were released in the Parond forest range on December 17, according to the officials.