BHOPAL: In a major breakthrough for India’s Cheetah Reintroduction Project, Nirvah, a female cheetah at Sheopur’s Kuno National Park, has delivered her cubs. This development marks a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to reintroduce cheetahs to their natural habitat, say officials.
The exact number of cubs is not known yet.
Nirvah, one of the cheetahs relocated from South Africa in 2022, had been showing definitive signs of pregnancy in recent weeks. Wildlife officials had been closely monitoring her condition, especially after earlier hopes surrounding Veera, another female cheetah, turned out to be a false alert.
The birth of Nirvah’s cubs brings renewed optimism to the project, which has been under the global spotlight, say officials.
Kuno National Park is now home to 24 cheetahs, including 12 cubs born within the park.
Officers say that this achievement is the success of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious initiative to reintroduce the species, which was declared extinct in India in 1952.
While Veera’s pregnancy had initially sparked excitement, further examinations confirmed it to be a false alarm. Despite this setback,
“Nirvah’s successful delivery has reaffirmed the park’s potential as a breeding ground for the reintroduced cheetahs” said an officer.
Officials at Kuno have expressed their joy and commitment to ensuring the survival and well-being of the newborn cubs.
“This development is seen as a crucial step toward establishing a sustainable cheetah population in India, paving the way for the revival of the species in its historic range” said an officer at the wildlife headquarters.