Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh welcomes three new members as Namibian Cheetah 'Aasha' gave birth to three cubs on Wednesday, reports said.
Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupender Yadav shared a video of the newborns on social media platform 'X'. The Union Minister termed the development “a roaring success for Project Cheetah envisioned by PM Narendra Modi to restore ecological balance”.
Taking to platform X, Yadav wrote, "Purrs in the wild! Thrilled to share that Kuno National Park has welcomed three new members. The cubs have been born to Namibian Cheetah Aasha. This is a roaring success for Project Cheetah, envisioned by PM Shri @narendramodi ji to restore ecological balance."
He also congratulated everyone involved in the project and wrote, "My big congrats to all experts involved in the project, the Kuno wildlife officials, and wildlife enthusiasts across India."
This is the first such birth in the national park since March 2023 when Siyaya, who was later renamed Jwala, had given birth to four cubs, but only one of them survived. Jwala was translocated to the Kuno National Park from Namibia.
Officials believe these cubs have a better chance at survival than Jwala’s. They think this is because the births occurred in winter, while Jwala's cubs were born in the summer.
They also saw the births as an affirmation that there’s a conducive environment for them at Kuno.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav also congratulated everyone involved in the Cheetah project and said, "Three new cubs have been born in Kuno National Park under the Cheetah project started under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Madhya Pradesh government. I also want to congratulate all the officials of the state involved with this."
