A female cheetah named Jwala in India’s Madhya Pradesh state has given birth to a litter of 5 cubs, the third since she arrived in the country.
India’s Minister for the Environment wrote on X that the birth increases “the number of Indian-born thriving cubs has risen to 33, marking the 10th successful cheetah litter on Indian soil.”
There have been highs and lows for the growing cheetah population in India, reintroduced in 2022 via several groups of animals from African strongholds of Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.
Their first destination was Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, where they were historically located before going extinct in the mid-20th century.
Though iconic to Africa, much like the lion and leopard, these cats spanned the Asian landmass as well, and in fact still live today as an isolated, Critically-Endangered population in Iran.
In India they were hunted for centuries for their pelts, and for sport. The government of long-serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi made “Project Cheetah” a keystone demonstration of his administration’s commitment to the environment.
However, mortality among the reintroduced cats has been high—a consequence typical of these sorts of projects—yet one which Modi has nevertheless taken substantial criticism over. 28 cheetahs were brought from Africa, but more than half have passed away. Some ecologists warned that they would have difficulty adapting to the predator density in Kuno, which harbors a robust leopard population.
There are now 53 cheetahs living in the wild and semi-wild habitats in both Kuno and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. They total 11 animals remaining that were translocated from Africa, and 33 India-born cubs, some of which are reaching sexual maturity.
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“This achievement reflects the dedicated efforts, skill, and commitment of the veterinarians, field staff and all involved who continue to work tirelessly on the ground,” said Minister Bhupender Yadav on X.
The birth follows a mid-February litter of 3 cubs to another Namibian female cat named Gamini, the second since she arrived in India.
“A moment of pride for Kuno, and for India—may Gamini and her three little sprinters grow strong and carry the nation’s cheetah revival story forward with speed and grace,” Yadev said at the time.
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According to Japan Times which reported on Gamini’s litter, the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India, which oversees the cheetah project, said that survival rates and hunting successes are “comparable to other international cheetah reintroduction efforts, with recorded wild prey kills confirming successful adaptation to the Indian landscape.”
Another cheetah reintroduction program is taking place in Saudi Arabia, where cheetahs also once lived but went extinct.
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