New Delhi: A significant milestone for Project Cheetah saw the birth of five cubs of the Indian born female cheetah, 32-month-old KJP21 at Kuno National Park, thus increasing the number of cheetahs in India to 60, out of which 41 are Indian born.
This development was made known by the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on X.
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He said KJP21 is the third Indian-born female to give birth, after Mukhi and KGP12.
The minister said the birth also marks the beginning of the Botswana lineage in India, as the cubs’ father is a Botswanan male cheetah. This adds a new genetic line to the country’s growing cheetah population, which was started with animals brought from Namibia and later from Botswana.
Describing the development as another generation of cheetahs born on Indian soil he says that it will be adding one more chapter to the cheetah reintroduction story in India. He thanked veterinarians, field personnel, managers, and all those involved in Project Cheetah for their hard work and dedication.
Project Cheetah was initiated in India in an attempt to bring back cheetahs to India where they had become locally extinct. So far, many births have taken place at Kuno National Park and Indian-bred females have started breeding.
