Four cubs have been born to an India-born cheetah in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Saturday (April 11, 2026). The fresh litter takes India’s total population of cheetahs to 57.
Mr. Yadav also said that this is the first recorded cheetah birth in the open forest since India’s reintroduction programme for the big cat species, Project Cheetah, was launched in 2022, as all previous births have taken place inside Kuno’s large-ranging enclosures. The cubs have been born to a daughter of South African cheetah Gamini.
India’s cheetah population crosses 50 with fresh litter of five cubs at Kuno
“A historic moment unfolds at Kuno National Park as an Indian-born female Cheetah of Gamini, aged 25 months, has given birth to four cubs in the wild marking a major milestone in India’s cheetah conservation journey. Having been in the wild for over a year, this is the first recorded birth in the wild since the reintroduction began in 2022,” Mr. Yadav said on social media platform X.
This is also the second instance when an India-born cheetah has produced litter. Earlier in November 2025, Mukhi became the first locally born cheetah to give birth when she delivered five cubs.
