Fourth cub born to Cheetah Gamini at Kuno, India’s Cheetah count rises to 39

South African cheetah Gamini has given birth to her fourth cub at Kuno National Park , taking the total number of cheetahs in India to 39 , Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced on Friday.

In a post on X, Yadav said the presence of the fourth cub was confirmed during intensive monitoring by field and veterinary teams. “All four cubs are healthy and doing fine. With this birth, the number of cheetahs in India now stands at 39, including 28 cubs born on Indian soil ,” he said.

All the cheetahs currently present in the country are housed at Kuno National Park , which remains the only active cheetah habitat in India under the Centre’s ambitious Project Cheetah . The park now hosts the entire cheetah population both the translocated adults and the India-born cubs, making it the focal point of the species’ revival effort.

Gamini was translocated to India from South Africa as part of the project launched in September 2022 to reintroduce cheetahs to India , where the species had gone extinct more than seven decades ago. Earlier this month, Yadav had announced the birth of Gamini’s first three cubs.

Located in Madhya Pradesh ’s Sheopur district, Kuno National Park spans over 748 square kilometres of dry deciduous forest and grassland. Once designated for the translocation of Asiatic lions, the park was later selected as the most suitable site for cheetah reintroduction due to its prey base, habitat conditions, and protection infrastructure.

Officials say the steady rise in cheetah numbers, particularly the increasing count of India-born cubs , is a positive indicator for the long-term success of the reintroduction programme, though close monitoring remains crucial during the early years of establishment.