Project Cheetah logs landmark success as Indian-born female gives birth to five cubs at MPs Kuno National Park

Bhopal: In a major breakthrough for Indias cheetah reintroduction programme, the first Indian-born female cheetah has given birth to five cubs at Madhya Pradeshs Kuno National Park (KNP), marking a historic milestone in the countrys conservation efforts. Sharing the historic development on X on Thursday, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav posted visuals of 33-months-old female cheetah Mukhi and her newborn cubs. In a delightful breakthrough for Indias cheetah reintroduction initiative, Mukhi the first Indian-born female cheetah, aged 33 months has given birth to five cubs. This is the first time in recent history that an Indian-born cheetah has reproduced, making it a landmark achievement for Project Cheetah, Yadav mentioned in the post. Successful reproduction by an India-born cheetah is a strong indicator of the species adaptation, health, and long-term prospects in Indian habitats. The mother and cubs are doing fine. This significant development reinforces optimism about establishing a self-sustaining and genetically diverse cheetah population in India, further advancing the nations conservation goals. Sharing the visuals, the MP Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, wrote on the same micro-blogging site, A historic milestone has been achieved in the Kuno National Park. The mother and cubs are doing well. This is an unprecedented breakthrough for Indias cheetah reintroduction initiative. Importantly, Mukhi is the lone surviving first-Indian born cub of Namibian cheetah Siyaya. She was born in March 2023 to Siyaya, just two days after the death of another Namibian female, Sasha, due to renal failure, was reported from the KNP -- which had become the first home to African cheetahs in India, following the successful introduction of eight Namibian cheetahs on September 17, 2022. Though Mukhi was the lone survivor among the first four Indian born cubs of the Namibian cheetah Siyaya, the female cub at nine months of age had sustained serious limb injury. Her subsequent recovery and growth into an independent, healthy adult cheetah, who learnt to hunt on her own, exemplifies the continuous efforts of the team of veterinary experts at the KNP. Importantly, both Mukhi and Siyaya became mothers at nearly the same age in the national park located in Sheopur district of MPs Gwalior-Chambal region. Thursdays landmark development in Indias ongoing cheetah reintroduction programme, more than seven decades after the species went extinct from the wild due to rampant hunting, gains further significance as Kuno National Park is now preparing to receive eight cheetahs from Botswana by the end of this year or early next year. Currently, Kuno National Park houses eight adult Namibian and South African cheetahs and 21 cubs. The Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in western Madhya Pradesh, which became the second home for African cheetahs in India in April 2025, now holds a South African male coalition and a female, all translocated from Kuno.