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Tenth Cheetah Litter in Kuno Raises Population to 53 — But Can India’s Cheetahs Survive in the Wild?

 India’s cheetah population reaches 53 after the tenth litter in Kuno, but experts question whether births inside bomas signal real conservation success. The announcement of the tenth cheetah litter in Kuno National Park on March 9 has pushed India’s cheetah population to 53 individuals. The numbers appear impressive. Of these, 44 cheetahs are currently alive, including nine recently brought from Botswana, while 45 cubs have been born in India since the project began. Out of these births, 33 cubs are surviving and 12 have died.For a species declared extinct in India in 1952, the return of cheetah cubs is emotionally powerful. Government officials and conservation managers have understandably celebrated the milestone as proof that Project Cheetah is moving in the right direction. But is this a right perception?  Also read: 3 Years In: Unveiling the Truth About India's Cheetah Project Perhaps, No. When viewed through the lens of ecology and long-term conservation, the numbe...
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Namibian Cheetah Siyayya Gives Birth To Four Cubs In Kuno




Cheetah cubs in Kuno

Two days after the death of Sasha, the female cheetah in Kuno national park, there is good news coming from the jungle . Siyayya another Namibian cheetah, still in an enclosure gave birth to four cubs. As the officials celebrate the occasion, they call cubs “ 4 Indian cheetahs after 75 years”. Under chetah translocation propject, 8 cheetahs were brought from Namibia on September 17 last year.  

Born In An Enclosure


cheetah cubs in kuno

Siyayya is still living in a 150 hectare enclosure inside Kuno national park where “she had interacted with Freddie and Elton, the two males “.  After the 8 Namibian cheetahs were airlifted to Kuno and quarantined before their release to different  enclosures, the two males were released in a bigger enclosure - number 4- of about 150 hectare. Siyayya was released also in the neighbouring enclosure number 5.  First they interacted from behind the wired fence   but   sometime around third week of December the gate between the two enclosures separating them was opened  leading to mating, said an official of theUnion ministry of forest ,environment  and climate change who is  part of the  cheetah project and action plan. The gestation period of cheetah is about 90 days and we were expecting good news, he said.  Though only 5 % cheetah cubs survive to adulthood, Siyayya has an advantage of living inside an enclosure where there is minimum risk of   predators.  

Also read: More Questions  On Cheetah Project in Kuno 

When in the wild, mothers keep their cubs hidden in their dens for 6 to 8 weeks to keep them protected from lions, hyenas and leopards among others. “The main factor for their survival for the first 60 days is their ability to stay   hidden from the predators”, officials said adding, “we will have to ensure that there would be no predators inside the enclosure where Siyayya is looking after her new born.”  “Here it is almost like nursing home conditions inside her enclosure but lets us see  how long  and how many of them  survive . You can’t predict with the wildlife animals” , they said. Siyayya was not released in the open jungle of Kuno . But three males including Freddie, Elton and one female- Asha- were released earlier this month. Two females, Savannah and Tiblis  were not found fit for their release in the wild. There are wild cheetah but were bred in captivity and may not survive in the wild. The eighth  cheetah Sasha died two days ago

By Deshdeep Saxena

Pictures Courtsey Kuno national park 
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