Cheetah project logs 12 cub births in 2025, India’s count now 30

Bhopal: The three-year-old cheetah reintroduction project moved ahead with full steam in 2025, a year which saw the birth of 12 cubs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) – three of them did not survive – taking the number of the big cats in India to 30, an official said on Wednesday.

However, six cheetahs, including three cubs, died during the year, he said.

Three female cheetahs gave birth to the 12 cubs, of which three did not survive due to different reasons. Besides, one adult brought from Namibia and two sub-adult cheetahs died during the year, Cheetah Project Field Director Uttam Sharma told PTI.

The world’s fastest land animal became extinct in India nearly seven decades ago.

As part of government efforts to revive the species, eight cheetahs were flown into the country from Namibia in September 2022, followed by another batch of 12 from South Africa that were relocated to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district in February 2023.

Of the total population of the animal, three cheetahs were shifted to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur district, while 27 are currently housed at the KNP.

Officials said the cheetahs are now set to get a third home in India — at the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.

At present, India is home to 30 cursorial animals, including 19 cubs born on Indian soil. The country has added 10 animals to its cheetah population over the past three years after importing 20 cheetahs as part of the ambitious reintroduction programme.

The efforts of the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh government to revive the big cats have borne fruit and the Project Cheetah has begun to yield results, Sharma noted.

The country is set to welcome eight more cheetah from Botswana.

According to the officials, the large predators have already been captured in the African nation and may arrive at the KNP by February.