6 cubs born to cheetah Gamini at Kuno, not 5: Minister Bhupender Yadav
With this, the cheetah count at Kuno National Park has increased to 27, including 14 cubs
African cheetah Gamini gave birth to six cubs and not five, as previously reported, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has revealed.
On Monday (March 18), Yadav posted on X that the five-year-old South African cheetah gave birth to six cubs at Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district. On March 10, he had posted that the number of cubs were five.
Yadav’s post
In a post on his official X account on Monday morning, Yadav said, “Gamini’s legacy leaps forward! There is no end to joy: It is not five, but six cubs! A week after the news of five cubs born to Gamini, it is now confirmed that Gamini, the South African cheetah mother, has given birth to six cubs, a record of sorts for a first-time mother.”
The minister also shared visuals of Gamini’s six cubs.
With this, the cheetah count at Kuno has increased to 27, including 14 cubs.
Series of deaths
In March last year, cheetah Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one survived. Jwala gave birth to her second litter of four cubs in January this year, which was followed by cheetah Aasha delivering three cubs.
Under the ambitious Project Cheetah, eight Namibian cheetahs, comprising five females and three males, were released into enclosures at the national park on September 17, 2022.
In February 2023, another 12 cheetahs were brought to the park from South Africa. Gamini is part of the group brought from South Africa.
Since March last year, 10 cheetahs, including three cubs born to Jwala, have died at Kuno.
(With agency inputs)
