WATCH: Translocated Namibian cheetah 'Aasha' gives birth to 3 cubs at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park

Aasha, one of the Namibian translocated cheetahs has given birth to three cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Video and image of the newborns were shared by Union Environment minister Bhupender Yadav Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Purrs in the wild! Thrilled to share that Kuno National Park has welcomed three new members,” the minister said in a post.

“This is a roaring success for Project Cheetah, envisioned by PM Narendra Modi to restore ecological balance,” the environment minister said.

He also congratulated all experts involved in the Project Cheetah, the Kuno wildlife officials, and wildlife enthusiasts across India.

Purrs in the wild!

Thrilled to share that Kuno National Park has welcomed three new members. The cubs have been born to Namibian Cheetah Aasha.

This is a roaring success for Project Cheetah, envisioned by PM Shri @narendramodi ji to restore ecological balance.

My big congrats… pic.twitter.com/c1fXvVJN4C

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) January 3, 2024

In March last year, another cheetah, Siyaya, who was also translocated to Kuno National Park (KNP) from Namibia and was later renamed as Jwala, had given birth to four cubs, but only one of them survived.

Project Cheetah

On his birthday on 17 September, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the first batch of eight Namibian cheetahs in KNP. It was the first intercontinental translocation of big cats into India.

Also Read: A year after reintroduction of cheetahs in India, a look at how big cats have fared

In the February of 2023, India got another 12 wild cats from South Africa as part of the Project Cheetah. Under the ambitious initiative, the Centre wants to bring around 5-10 cheetahs every year to the country over the next decade with the aim of establishing a viable population of about 35 cheetahs.

Aasha was released into the wild in March 2023 and has since travelled 200 km away from the KNP boundary till September last year.