Bhopal: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said that the South African cheetah Gamini, who is residing in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, has given birth to six cubs and not five as reported more than a week ago. He also shared an adorable video of the six cubs on social media platform X.
Taking to X, Yadav said, "Gamini's legacy leaps forward! There is no end to joy: It is not five, but six cubs! A week after the news of five cubs born to Gamini, it is now confirmed that Gamini, the South African cheetah mother, has given birth to six cubs, a record of sorts for a first-time mother."
Earlier, the Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change on March 10 said Gamini had given birth to five cubs.
With this, the cheetah count at the Kuno National Park has increased to 27, including 14 cubs. In March last year, cheetah Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one managed to survive. Jwala gave birth to her second litter of four cubs in January this year, which was followed by cheetah Aasha delivering three cubs.
The cheetah, the fastest land animal, was declared extinct in India in 1952. Cheetahs were translocated to the Kuno National Park from South Africa and Namibia as part of the central government's ambitious plan to revive their population in India.
Under the Cheetah Reintroduction Project, eight Namibian cheetahs, comprising five females and three males, were released into enclosures at the KNP on September 17 in 2022. In February 2023, another 12 cheetahs were brought to the park from South Africa. Gamini is part of the group brought from South Africa.
Since March last year, 10 cheetahs, including three cubs born to Jwala, have died. Project Cheetah involves the relocation of 20 cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park. Launched by the Indian government, it aims to reintroduce cheetahs to the wild in India, where they became extinct nearly seven decades ago.
(with PTI inputs)
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