Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav revealed that South African cheetah Gamini had given birth to three cubs at Kuno National Park, marking a new milestone in India’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction program. According to the minister, the birth marks the end of three years since the cheetahs from South Africa arrived. There are now 38 cheetahs in the nation after Gamini, a second-time mother, gave birth to the cubs at Kuno National Park. “Kuno has some wonderful news again. With the conclusion of three years since the entrance of cheetahs from South Africa, Kuno welcomes three new cubs — A roaring new chapter at Kuno,” Yadav wrote on X. Celebrations were reverberating throughout the park, he continued, as Gamini “has brought 3 new cubs into the world.” According to the minister, this is the sixth successful cheetah litter to be born in India.
“This happy arrival brings the total number of surviving Indian-born cubs to 27, and it is the ninth successful cheetah litter on Indian soil,” he said, adding that every birth fortifies the reintroduction effort. He credited the “passion, perseverance, and round-the-clock dedication of the field staff and veterinary teams” involved in the project, writing, “With these newest additions, India’s total cheetah population has now reached 38—a powerful symbol of the country’s determined and historic conservation effort.” The world’s first intercontinental translocation program, Project Cheetah, was introduced on September 17, 2022, with the goal of returning the cheetah to India. In 1952, the species was deemed extinct in the nation. As the initiative progresses beyond the original translocation to long-term conservation and breeding success, wildlife officials have characterized the subsequent litters as crucial to creating a stable, free-ranging population.