Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed the birth of five cheetah cubs at Kuno National Park, a development that has taken India’s cheetah population to 60.
In a post shared by the PMO India, the Prime Minister highlighted the latest addition to the country’s growing cheetah population, noting that the five cubs were born at Kuno.
Five cubs born in Kuno; India’s cheetah population touches 60
https://t.co/YCag7qDJZK
via NaMo App https://t.co/twMn4U6NcS
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) October 6, 2026
The five cubs were born to an India-born female cheetah, taking the number of cheetahs born on Indian soil to 41.
The development marks another step towards establishing a naturally reproducing cheetah population in the country.
The cubs are particularly significant as they are the first India-born cheetahs fathered by a male originating from Botswana. Their arrival adds to efforts under Project Cheetah to develop a genetically viable population capable of sustaining itself in India.
India launched Project Cheetah in 2022 after bringing cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa, more than 70 years after the species became locally extinct.
Since then, authorities have monitored the animals’ health, movements and breeding across Kuno’s landscape.
The latest litter provides further momentum to the reintroduction programme, while the survival of the newborns remains an important focus during their vulnerable early months.
India’s cheetah population has now reached 60, prompting the conservation programme to focus increasingly on natural breeding and long-term population sustainability.
Continued monitoring and protection of the cubs will be crucial as India works towards establishing a self-sustaining cheetah population without continued dependence on overseas translocations.
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