‘Happiness is coming to Kuno’: Cheetah set to give birth

A cheetah is pregnant at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said in a post on social media Sunday. “Happiness is coming to Kuno. A female cheetah is soon going to give birth to new cubs in the Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh, the ‘Cheetah State’ of the country,” Yadav posted on X.

In a departure from previous practice where such information was shared by the central government, this time, it was CM Yadav who broke the news. “This news is a symbol of a big achievement of the Cheetah Project. This project, started under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, is proving to be a continuous improvement in the ecological balance,” he said.

Kuno currently houses 24 cheetahs, including 12 cubs. Brought from South Africa, Veera, who is nearly five years old, is most likely to be the cheetah in question, an official said.

In April this year, Veera was rescued after roaming in the Jaura, Pahargarh, and Kailaras areas of Morena. During her time outside, she hunted a Nilgai and preyed on a handful of goats.

According to officials, 12 cheetah cubs have so far been born on Indian soil over the last two years at KNP. The project has also seen setbacks with eight adult cheetahs and five cubs dying during the same period.

All surviving cheetahs are currently in enclosures. “The cheetahs will be released back into the wild in a phased manner starting October end,” officials said recently