GUWAHATI: A Namibian cheetah named Aasha gave birth to three cubs in the Kuno National Park on January 3, as per reports.
The news came amidst dwindling numbers of the cheetah along with the recent deaths of the Namibian cheetahs in Kuno National Park (KNP). India had brought several felines from Namibia and South Africa as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction Project in 2022.
The first batch of eight Namibian cheetahs were released into the Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in mid-September 2022. This was followed by the translocation of around two dozen cheetahs from South Africa during the next few months. Intercontinental long-distance cheetah translocations have an inherent risk of mortality and eight cats out of the initial 20 have died since their relocation, reports stated.
According to reports, the father of the cubs is the cheetah Pawan. There is also a possibility of more newborn cubs present in the enclosure.
Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav took to X to put out, "Purr in the wild! Thrilled to share that KNP has welcomed three new members. The cubs have been born to Namibian cheetah, Aasha. This is a roaring success for the project Cheetah, envisioned by PM Modi to restore ecological balance. My big congratulations to all the experts involved in the project, the Kuno wildlife officials, and wildlife enthusiasts across India".
Earlier in March 2023, a female cheetah named Jwala had given birth to four cubs, but only one of them survived. With this, the total count of cheetahs at KNP has increased to 18(14 adults and 4 cubs). At present only two cheetahs are in the wild, while the remaining are inside a big enclosure.