Cheetah brought from Namibia to India gives birth to four healthy cubs

Environment minister Bhupender Yadav congratulated the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back the large carnivore to India

Updated on: Mar 29, 2023, 15:21:58 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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A three-year-old captive-reared cheetah named Siyaya gave birth to four cubs five days ago in a soft predator-free enclosure in Kuno National Park, said an official on Wednesday.

Siyaya was among the eight cheetahs that were translocated to India on September 17 in 2022. (Twitter | Bhupender Yadav)

This development comes days after a female cheetah Sasha had died of renal failure.

JS Chauhan, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) (wildlife) said, “Siyaya was not visible for the past five days. Her location was showing at one place in the satellite collar. Namibian cheetah expert Eli Walker checked her today (Wednesday) by entering the enclosure and found four cubs.”

The mother and cubs are looking healthy. We will not interfere because it is a natural process. We will keep a vigil on Siyaya and cubs to protect them, he added.

Also Read: Female cheetah Sasha in MP’s Kuno died of kidney failure, says autopsy report

Terming it as a momentous event, environment minister Bhupender Yadav credited the team of Project Cheetah.

“I am delighted to share that four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs translocated to India on 17th September 2022, under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji (sic),” he tweeted.

The minister congratulated the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back the large carnivore to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past.

“The cheetahs mate only in a stress-free environment and the birth of four cubs proved that cheetahs are comfortable and adapted well here in Kuno National Park. They are themselves expanding the population of cheetahs,” said YV Jhala, former director and chief scientist of the cheetah project.

Siyaya was among the eight cheetahs that were translocated to India on September 17 in 2022.

According to forest officials, another cheetah, Asha, who was released into the wild last week, is showing symptoms of being pregnant but it will be confirmed only after the birth of cubs.

The expert said this is a positive sign towards the success of the first intercontinental cheetah translocation project.

Now, Kuno National Park has 19 cheetahs- four from Namibia in the wild, 12 from South Africa in quarantine, and three from Namibia in a soft enclosure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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