Sheopur (MP), Mar 17: Cheetah Gamini and her four cubs were released into the wild at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, an official said.
With this, the number of cheetahs in the wild in KNP has gone up to 17, while nine felines are staying in the enclosures.
Gamini, the South African female cheetah, and her four cubs (two male and two females, aged 12 months) have been successfully released in Khajuri forest area of the KNP in Sheopur district, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Uttam Kumar Sharma said in a release.
“The mother and all the four cubs are healthy. This forest area is part of Ahera tourism zone,” the release stated.
Due to the presence of cheetahs in the tourism zone, visitors may now get an opportunity to see the big cats during safari, it said.
“After the release of Gamini and her four cubs, there are now 17 cheetahs (including 11 cubs born on Indian soil) in the wild in the Kuno National Park. All cheetahs are healthy and doing fine in the wild,” the release stated.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in a post on X on Sunday night said the increased number of cheetahs will offer tourists an opportunity to watch them in their natural habitat, which will attract more visitors to the KNP.
The Madhya Pradesh government is determined to take wildlife conservation and tourism to new heights, he added.
According to officials, Gamini gave birth to six cubs in her first litter on March 10, 2024. Two of the cubs, however, died in subsequent months.
On February 21 this year, Cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were released into the wild in KNP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initiated the cheetah translocation project with the historic release of eight cheetahs — five females and three males — brought from Namibia in the KNP on September 17, 2022.
This marked the first-ever intercontinental translocation of big cats. In February 2023, 12 additional cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to the KNP.
The total number of cheetahs in the KNP now stands at 26, including 14 cubs born on the Indian soil.
The ambitious project is part of India’s efforts to restore the cheetah population and enhance wildlife conservation and tourism in the region. (PTI)
