India achieves global conservation breakthrough with first wild birth by native-born cheetah at Kuno National Park

BHOPAL: In a landmark moment for global wildlife conservation, India’s ambitious Cheetah Reintroduction Project India has achieved its most critical milestone yet, with Kuno National Park recording the first-ever cheetah birth in the wild since reintroduction.

A 25-month-old Indian-born female, the second female cub from Gamini’s first litter, has delivered four cubs. With this addition, India is now home to 57 cheetahs, of which 37 have been born in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the first batch of eight cheetahs into Kuno National Park on September 17, 2022, marking the species’ return to India after decades.

Officials said the female, which has not yet been formally named, was born on March 10, 2024, and has been ranging free in the wild for over a year.

Her successful litter marks a shift from managed conservation to natural population establishment, with cheetahs now surviving and reproducing independently in open forest conditions, say officials.

Describing it as the “ benchmark” of the project’s success, the state’s chief wildlife warden Samita Rajora said the development confirms that an India-born cheetah has successfully bred in the wild. “This was the ultimate goal, establishing a self-sustaining population where wild-born cheetahs breed in the wild,” she said.

Officials, however, said the identity of the father of the cubs is yet to be confirmed. Teams are currently analysing satellite collar data and movement patterns of male cheetahs in the landscape to determine paternity, as multiple males have overlapping ranges in parts of Kuno.

The Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav also hailed the development, calling it a “historic moment” for India’s conservation efforts. In a social media post, he said an Indian-born female cheetah from Gamini has given birth to four cubs in the wild, describing it as a major milestone since the reintroduction began in 2022. He noted that the achievement reflects growing adaptation of cheetahs to Indian conditions and lauded the efforts of field staff, veterinarians and wildlife managers. “A proud moment for the nation,” he said, congratulating all those involved.

Rajora said, “A historic moment again in our Cheetah Project dear all. Congratulations. We have four cubs born in the wild to an Indian born cheetah mother.”

Chief minister Mohan Yadav said Madhya Pradesh is now emerging as the main centre for the revival of cheetahs. “The birth of four cubs by this cheetah of Indian origin, born from Gamini, in the open forests is proof that the land of Madhya Pradesh is fully conducive to the lineage expansion of cheetahs. Our commitment to nature and wildlife conservation is succeeding. Heartiest congratulations to the managers of Kuno and the wildlife veterinarians,” he said.

Adding an international conservation perspective, Susan Yannetti of Cheetah Metapopulation Project said, “The Cheetah Action Plan denotes several criteria for success, and reproduction by the F1 generation, meaning cheetahs born on Indian soil, is one of them, arguably the most important. This indicates cheetahs are successfully establishing home ranges in Kuno and ensures a viable population for the future.”

However, officials cautioned that the biggest challenge now lies ahead, ensuring survival of the cubs amid the harsh summer conditions of central India. With temperatures in the Kuno landscape set to soar beyond 45°C in the coming weeks, cub mortality risk remains a concern, particularly in the early months when they are most vulnerable to heat stress, dehydration and predation.

Field teams have intensified monitoring while maintaining minimal interference, tracking the mother and cubs through ground patrols and surveillance inputs. “Nature has taken its course. Now survival will depend on how well the cubs withstand environmental pressures,” an official said.

Project timeline and background
The cheetah reintroduction programme formally took shape after the Supreme Court of India in January 2020 permitted its rollout as an experimental project, appointing an expert panel to guide implementation. This was followed by the 2022 release of the national action plan under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Tiger Conservation Authority, laying down scientific protocols for bringing African cheetahs to India.

A second batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa followed in February 2023, forming the founder population.

The journey since then has seen both milestones and setbacks. Early successes included the birth of cubs to Namibian female Jwala in 2023, though extreme summer conditions led to cub mortalities, underlining climatic challenges. Several adult cheetahs were also lost to illness, injuries and infections, prompting changes in veterinary protocols and collar design.

At the same time, key breakthroughs continued. Aasha and Jwala produced multiple litters, while Gamini gave birth to six cubs in 2024, of which four survived. India also carried out its first intra-country translocation of cheetahs to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in 2025 to expand the population base. Additional sites such as Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary have been identified as part of the long-term landscape strategy.

The programme has also drawn international cooperation, including cheetah transfers from Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, reinforcing India’s role in global species restoration.

The Project Cheetah Action Plan states that the programme requires a long-term commitment of at least 25 years from MoEF&CC, NTCA, state forest departments and the Wildlife Institute of India. It outlines that short-term success would include 50% survival of introduced cheetahs in the first year, establishment of home ranges in Kuno, successful reproduction in the wild, survival of some wild-born cubs beyond one year, and successful breeding by the F1 generation of India-born cheetahs, along with revenue generation supporting local livelihoods.

For long-term success, the plan envisages stable survival rates of around 70% in adults and 25 to 40% in cubs, a viable metapopulation across three to five reserves, maintenance of genetic diversity from the founder population, improvement in habitat quality, prey base and overall biodiversity, and tangible economic benefits for local communities.

It has also defined failure as a situation where introduced cheetahs fail to survive or reproduce within five years, or where suitable habitats cannot be secured and restored, in which case the programme may need to be reviewed or discontinued.

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