Indian-born cheetah KGP12 has delivered four cubs at Kuno National Park, taking India’s cheetah population to 56 and marking a Project Cheetah milestone.
An Indian-born female cheetah has delivered four cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, marking the emergence of a second generation born under India’s cheetah reintroduction programme.
The mother, identified as KGP12, was born at Kuno to Gamini, a cheetah brought to India from South Africa. Her cubs are therefore descendants of a translocated African cheetah but belong to the second generation born on Indian soil.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced the births on September 18, one day after Project Cheetah completed four years.
India’s Cheetah Population Reaches 56
The four births have taken India’s reported cheetah population to 56, including 36 animals born in the country. Kuno National Park now houses 53 cheetahs, while three are at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Four years, four new lives—a beautiful symbol of hope, resilience and the growing success of cheetah conservation in India,” Yadav said while announcing the development.
The birth is important because an animal born through the reintroduction programme has now matured and produced offspring of its own. It represents a transition from relying primarily on imported adult cheetahs to establishing successive India-born generations.
Project Cheetah’s Four-Year Journey
Project Cheetah began on September 17, 2022, when eight cheetahs from Namibia were released at Kuno. Twelve more animals arrived from South Africa in February 2023, followed by nine cheetahs from Botswana in 2026.
The programme seeks to establish a viable cheetah population in India after the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952.
The latest litter represents an encouraging breeding milestone, but the project’s longer-term performance will also depend on cub survival, genetic diversity, suitable habitat, prey availability, disease management and the safe expansion of cheetah populations beyond fenced or closely monitored areas.
According to The Indian Express, officials consider KGP12’s litter particularly significant because it shows that India-born cheetahs are beginning to reproduce within the reintroduction programme.
Forest officials are expected to monitor the mother and cubs closely during their vulnerable early months.
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