New Delhi, June 15: A solar-powered water lift system has emerged as a lifeline for the cheetah cubs born in Kuno National Park this summer, helping them survive extremely hot and harsh conditions.
Temperatures soared to the high 40s across northwest and central India this June, putting immense pressure on water resources.
In May 2023, three cubs born to Namibian cheetah Jwala died due to extreme heat in the national park in Madhya Pradesh.
Learning from that experience, authorities have installed a solar-powered system to pump water from the Kuno river and transport it through an 8.6-km-long pipeline to sprinklers and water saucers at more than 15 locations inside the park.
“Lifting water from Kuno river, taking it kilometres away, using sprinklers extensively to create green spaces, and improving water availability, especially for mother and new-born cubs in a planned way, have proved quite successful,” according to video posted on X by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Cheetah Project Director, Uttam Kumar Sharma.
“The importance of water is felt only in its absence and it is nowhere as pronounced as in Kuno during peak summer… Under the incessant pummelling of hot winds called ‘loo’ and temperatures bordering 48 degrees Celsius, life becomes very difficult for wildlife, particularly the young ones,” it said.
South African cheetah Veera gave birth to two cubs in February 2025, while another South African cheetah, Nirva, gave birth to five cubs in April.
Two of Nirva’s cubs died, but officials said the rest are doing well.
The officials said the cubs were experiencing such harsh conditions for the first time and both the mothers and their offspring were regularly using the water points, indicating the success of the initiative.
Launched in September 2022, 70 years after the species was declared extinct in the country, India’s cheetah reintroduction project is among the most ambitious conservation efforts in recent history.
As part of the project, 20 African cheetahs were brought to Kuno: eight from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023.
Since then, 26 cheetah cubs have been born in India. Of these, 17 survived.
Eleven cubs are roaming free in the wild, while the others are in enclosures at Kuno.(PTI)
