Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bhopal: A female cheetah is pregnant and expected to deliver cubs soon at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav shared the information in a post on social media platform X late Saturday night and said this symbolises a big achievement for the 'Cheetah Project'.
On September 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs -- five females and three males -- brought from Namibia into enclosures at the KNP as part of the world's first intercontinental translocation of the big cats, nearly eight decades after the cheetahs were hunted to extinction.
In February 2023, another 12 cheetahs were translocated to the national park in MP from South Africa as part of the Indian government’s project to reintroduce cheetahs into the country.
Yadav in the post on X said, "Happiness is coming to Kuno. A female cheetah is soon going to give birth to new cubs in the Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh, the 'Cheetah State' of the country."
"This news is a symbol of a big achievement of the Cheetah Project. This project, started under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, is proving to be a continuous improvement in the ecological balance," he said.
According to officials, 12 cheetah cubs have so far been born on the Indian soil over the last two years at KNP.
The project has also seen setbacks with eight adult cheetahs and five cubs dying during the same period.
Seventeen cubs have so far been born in India, with 12 surviving, bringing the total number of cheetahs, including cubs, at Kuno to 24 at present, according to officials.
All surviving cheetahs are currently in enclosures.
The cheetahs will be released back into the wild in a phased manner starting October-end, officials said recently.
The Agni-Vayu coalition will be released first in the Palpur East range, while the Prabhash-Pavak coalition will be released in a different area, according to the officials.