SHEOPUR (MADHYA PRADESH), October 12 — The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) alongside the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Monday announced a major conservation milestone under 'Project Cheetah', confirming the birth of four healthy cubs to a translocated Namibian cheetah at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, elevating the national cheetah tally to 28.
According to veterinary wildlife audits released by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and state forest authorities, the mother and litter remain in exceptional health within a secure predator-proof breeding enclosure. Round-the-clock behavioral tracking via VHF collars and automated camera traps verified normal maternal bonding and nursing. With this litter, the cumulative count of cheetah cubs successfully born on Indian soil has reached 17, underscoring physiological acclimation to tropical savannah and scrub-forest ecosystems.
NTCA wildlife scientists confirmed that secondary habitat preparation at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh) and habitat assessment across Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan) are progressing rapidly. Establishing an interconnected metapopulation across the Kuno-Gandhi Sagar ecological corridor remains pivotal to mitigate localized disease risks and prevent territorial density saturation.
Project Cheetah (launched in September 2022 as the world's first intercontinental translocation of a large wild carnivore), the historic extinction of the Asiatic Cheetah in India in 1952, taxonomic differences between the African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus, IUCN Vulnerable) and the Asiatic Cheetah (Critically Endangered, restricted to Iran), the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, and grassland ecosystem ecology are recurring focal topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Ecology & Environment) and State Forest Service exams.