A file photo of cheetahs in Kuno National Park.
New Delhi: A Namibian cheetah has given birth to 3 cubs in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. A few weeks before this, another cheetah had given birth to 3 cubs. Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav posted this news on the social media platform ‘X’ and said, ‘Kuno’s new cubs! Namibian cheetah Jwala has given birth to 3 cubs. A few weeks before this, Namibian cheetah Asha had given birth to 3 cubs. Congratulations to all the wildlife warriors working on the front lines and wildlife lovers across the country. May India’s wildlife prosper.
Last year 4 little guests came
Let us tell you that on January 3, Kuno National Park officials had informed that Namibian cheetah Asha has given birth to 3 cubs. Jwala (Namibian name Siaya) also gave birth to 4 cubs in March last year. However, only one of the cubs survived. Jwala and Asha are cheetahs who were brought to India from Namibia under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Project Cheetah’. The project aims to increase the population of this large carnivore species that became extinct in independent India.
7 out of 20 leopards have died
The first batch of 8 leopards was brought to India in September 2022. A second batch of 12 leopards was brought from South Africa in February last year. The cheetah conservation project was sharply criticized after the death of 7 out of 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa. According to officials, one of the biggest challenges faced by the cheetahs in their first year in India was the unexpected winter shedding of some animals during summer and monsoon as winter in Africa lasts from June to September. When it is summer and monsoon season in India.
‘There are a total of 14 leopards in Kuno National Park’
An official said that the layer of fur in the extreme heat caused scratches to the leopards’ necks and ultimately led to bacterial infection and septicemia, which led to the death of three leopards. SP Yadav, additional director general of forests in the Union environment ministry, had earlier said, ‘The mortality rate under Project Cheetah is within the expected limits. According to the Cheetah Action Plan, we had estimated a mortality rate of around 50 percent. Currently, 14 cheetahs brought from abroad are alive, apart from them there is also a cub born on Indian soil.
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