Cheetah Nirva gives birth to five cubs at Kuno National Park, India's count 31

NEW DELHI: Nirva, a cheetah in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park gave birth to five cubs on Sunday. With this, the total number of cheetahs has increased to 29 in the national park and 31 in India. In November, Neerva gave birth to four cubs, but two of them later died.

Two cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, were recently released into the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, located across Neemuch and Mandsaur districts.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav shared the news on his X account on Sunday. He wrote, "It is a great pleasure that the population of cheetahs at Kuno National Park is constantly growing. Recently, a five-year-old Nirva has given birth to five cubs. The arrival of these little cubs is a symbol of the success of the cheetah project and the rich biodiversity of India."

कूनो में नए मेहमानों का स्वागत है...

अत्यंत प्रसन्नता है कि कूनो राष्ट्रीय उद्यान में चीतों का कुनबा निरंतर बढ़ रहा है।

हाल ही में 5 वर्षीय नीरवा ने 5 शावकों को जन्म दिया है। इन नन्हे शावकों का आगमन चीता प्रोजेक्ट की सफलता और भारत की समृद्ध जैव-विविधता का प्रतीक है।

माननीय… pic.twitter.com/TRH33BrLJI

— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) April 27, 2025

The birth of the cubs marked a major milestone in India's Cheetah reintroduction project, launched in 2022. Under the project, cheetahs — once extinct in India — were brought in from Namibia and South Africa.

Eight Namibian cheetahs — five females and three males — were released into Kuno National Park on September 17, 2022, in the first-ever intercontinental translocation of the species. In February 2023, twelve additional cheetahs from South Africa were also brought to Kuno.