Three cheetah cubs born to Gamini at Kuno, boosting India's total population to 38

Three cubs have been born to South African cheetah Gamini at Kuno National Park, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced on February 18, marking a fresh milestone for India’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme.

The minister said the birth coincides with the completion of three years since the arrival of the cheetahs from South Africa. Gamini, now a second-time mother, delivered the cubs at Kuno National Park, taking the country’s total cheetah population to 38.

“Another good news from Kuno… Kuno welcomes three new cubs — A roaring new chapter at Kuno on the occasion of completion of 3 years of arrival of cheetahs from South Africa,” Yadav wrote on X. He added that celebrations were echoing through the park as Gamini “has brought 3 new cubs into the world.”

The minister said this is the ninth successful cheetah litter born on Indian soil. “This joyful arrival marks the ninth successful cheetah litter on Indian soil and takes the number of surviving Indian-born cubs to 27,” he stated, noting that each birth strengthens the foundation of the reintroduction effort.

“With these newest additions, India’s total cheetah population has now reached 38 — a powerful symbol of the country’s determined and historic conservation effort,” he wrote, crediting the “passion, perseverance, and round-the-clock dedication of the field staff and veterinary teams” involved in the project.

Project Cheetah, launched on September 17, 2022, is the world’s first intercontinental translocation programme aimed at reintroducing the cheetah to India. The species had been declared extinct in the country in 1952.

Wildlife officials have described the successive litters as critical to establishing a stable, free-ranging population, as the project moves from initial translocation to long-term conservation and breeding success.