Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced on Sunday that cheetah Nirva has given birth to five cubs at Kuno National Park, Sheopur district. With this addition, the park’s cheetah population, including cubs, has now reached 29.
Sharing the news on X, Mr Yadav described it as a proud moment for wildlife conservation efforts in India. “The continuous rise in the cheetah population at Kuno reflects the success of the Cheetah Project and the richness of India’s biodiversity,” he said. He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership in fostering a supportive environment for wildlife to thrive and congratulated the entire team at Kuno, along with conservation experts and partners, for this achievement.
New cheetah cubs 🐾
— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) April 27, 2025
Please join me in welcoming 5 precious new lives in Kuno National Park.
In the lap of their mother Nirva, 5-year-old brought from Mapesu Reserve in South Africa, these cubs remind us of the beauty and resilience of nature. May they grow strong, swift, and… pic.twitter.com/GFshaJCZUg
Earlier in April, two South African cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, who were part of an earlier translocation, were moved from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, located across Neemuch and Mandsaur districts.
The reintroduction project had begun in September 2022 with eight cheetahs—five females and three males—brought from Namibia. This marked the world’s first intercontinental translocation of cheetahs. Later, in February 2023, twelve more cheetahs arrived from South Africa.
Before Nirva’s new litter, Kuno was home to 24 cheetahs, including 14 cubs born in India. With two cheetahs now shifted to Gandhi Sagar and Nirva’s five newborns, the total count of cheetahs and cubs across India has touched 31.
