'Gamini', the South African
cheetah mother, has given birth to not five but six cubs at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday. Sharing a video and a photograph of six cubs, the minister said that there was no end to the joy, adding that the number was "a record of sorts for a first-time mother"
"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. Sharing the joy with visuals of Gamini’s adorable six cubs," Yadav wrote on the social media site X.
Earlier on March 10, the Union Minister said that Gamini had given birth to five cubs.
"High Five, Kuno! Female cheetah Gamini, aged about 5 years, brought from Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa, has given birth to 5 cubs today." The number of cheetah cubs born in India now stands at 13, the minister added.
He further said that this was the fourth cheetah litter on Indian soil
In March last year, cheetah
Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one survived, PTI reported. Jwala gave birth to her second litter of four cubs in January. This was followed by cheetah Aasha delivering three cubs.
Under the central government's ambitious
cheetah reintroduction project, eight Namibian cheetahs -- five females and three males -- were released into enclosures at the Kuno National Park on September 17, 2022. Later, in February 2023, 12 more cheetahs were brought to the park from South Africa. At least seven of these cheetahs have died since March 2023, The Indian Express reported.
Gamini is part of the group brought from South Africa. Earlier, officials said that of the 26 cheetahs in the Kuno National Park, seven are females, six males and 13 cubs.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
