Cheetah from Namibia gives birth to four cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh
The three-year-old Siyaya was among the eight cheetahs that had been brought from Namibia and they were released into the KNP by PM Modi on his birthday last year
Siyaya, a female cheetah translocated from Namibia in September last year, has given birth to four cubs at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The development comes two days after when a South African feminine spotted creature, Sasha, died of kidney failure in the same wild park.
These are the first cheetah cubs born in India after over 70 years as the spotted felines had been declared extinct in the country in 1952. The last cheetahs were spotted in the country in 1947 in the Koriya district of Chhattisgarh.
“Siyaya was not visible for the past five days. Her location was showing in one place on the satellite collar. African cheetah expert Eli Walker checked her on Wednesday by entering the enclosure and found four cubs,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forest of the state, J S Chouhan said.
“The mother and cubs look healthy. We will not interfere because it is a natural process. We are keeping an eye on Siyaya and her whelps to protect them,” Chouhan also said.
Three-year-old Siyaya was among the eight cheetahs that had been brought from Namibia of South Africa and they were released into the KNP by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday, September 17, last year under the Cheetah reintroduction project.
Under the project, another batch of 12 Namibian spotted felines was released by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the KNP into the quarantine enclosures of the park on February 18.
After the death of Sasha, a total of 19 cheetahs are in the park as of now including 9 females and 10 males. After the birth of four cubs, a total of 23 cheetahs are in the spotted felines family in the KNP.
Sharing a video of newly born cubs, CM Chouhan tweeted, “With the inspiration and efforts of honourable PM @narendramodi ji, a pleasant return of cheetah has been made to India. MP has become cheetah state.” “Today, we all residents of the state are happy with the arrival of four new cubs in the cheetah family in the KNP,” Chouhan also tweeted.
The KNP has been selected as a beautiful and ideal habitat for the cheetahs, where there are large grasslands, small hills, and forests. It is very suitable for spotted creatures.
Tweeting a picture of the cubs, Union Forest and Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said, “Congratulations India! A momentous event in our wildlife conservation history during Amrit Kaal.”
“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.” Yadav also tweeted. He credited the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back the large carnivore to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past.
“The cheetahs mate only in a stress-free environment and the birth of four cubs proved that the spotted felines are comfortable and adapted well in the KNP. They are themselves expanding the population of cheetahs”, former director and chief scientist of the project.
According to the Forest Department sources, another female cheetah, Asha, that was released into the wild last week, is showing symptoms of being pregnant but it will be confirmed only after the birth of cubs.
