Cheetah population in India’s Kuno National Park reaches 12

Last year, prime minister Narendra Modi released eight Namibian cheetahs into the park as part of an ambitious initiative to reintroduce the species in India

• Kimberly Rodrigues
• 12 July, 2023

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By: Kimberly Rodrigues

Two additional cheetahs have been introduced to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in the Sheopur district of India’s Madhya Pradesh, bringing the total count to 12, a senior forest official said Tuesday (11).

Last year, prime minister Narendra Modi released eight Namibian cheetahs, consisting of five females and three males, into special enclosures at KNP as part of an ambitious initiative to reintroduce the species in India.

On February 18 this year, twelve more cheetahs, comprising seven males and five females, were brought to KNP from South Africa.

Divisional forest officer P K Verma confirmed on Monday (10) that two male cheetahs named Prabhash and Pavak were released into the wild at KNP in Sheopur.

Both cheetahs were brought to India from South Africa.

With their release, the number of cheetahs roaming freely in the park has reached 12, while five cheetahs and a cub remain in the enclosures.

Unfortunately, since March, six cheetahs, including three cubs born to cheetah Jwala, have died at KNP.

In March of this year, cheetah Jwala gave birth to four cubs at KNP. The birth of these cubs marks a significant milestone as the last cheetah in India was reported to have died in Koriya district, present-day Chhattisgarh, in 1947. Consequently, the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952.

(PTI)