India celebrates birth of three new Cheetah cubs

India's efforts to revive its cheetah population received a boost with the birth of three cubs, bringing the country's total number of these iconic animals to 38.

Indian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav announced that Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh recorded the births. In a post on social media platform X, he shared that the cubs were born to a South African cheetah who is a second-time mother. The birth coincides with the completion of three years since cheetahs were first brought from South Africa to India.

This marks the ninth successful cheetah litter on Indian soil, and the number of surviving Indian-born cheetah cubs has now risen to 27. Following the latest births, India's total cheetah population stands at 38.

The initiative traces back to 2022-23, when India successfully completed the world's first inter-continental translocation of a large carnivore, with 20 cheetahs arriving from Namibia and South Africa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally released the first eight cheetahs on 17 September, 2022.