Bhopal: Namibian female cheetah Aasha in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday became a mother for the second time by giving birth to five cubs.

With this, the number of India-born cheetah cubs in Kuno rises to 24.

A video shared by the forest officers of the park showed Aasha, famously known as the ‘Wanderer’ for daring to explore the length and breadth of the Kuno soon after arriving there from Namibia, along with seven other cheetahs on September 17, 2022, caressing her cute cubs after giving them birth.

“Both the mother and her cubs are in good health”, field director of the Kuno National Park Uttam Kumar Sharma told this newspaper.

Aasha’s partner in her second litter was a South African male cheetah, Agni, according to Mr. Sharma.

Aasha in her first litter, fathered by male cheetah Pawan, had given birth to three male cubs on January three, 2024.

Namibian cheetah Pawan died due to drowning in a wild stream in Kuno on August 27, 2024.

Union forest minister Bhupendra Singh, in fact, broke the news by sharing information on X, saying, “A moment of immense pride and joy for Project Cheetah as Aasha, the Namibian cheetah and a proud second-time mother, gave birth to five cubs on February 7, 2026, at Kuno National Park. With this, the tally of India-born surviving cubs rises to 24, marking the eighth successful cheetah litter on Indian soil- a significant milestone in India’s cheetah conservation journey, undertaken and nurtured under the environmentally conscious leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi”.

The cheetah population in India has now grown to 32, out of which 24 were born on Indian soil.

The cheetah population in India is set to get a further boost with the eight cheetahs from Botswana arriving in Kuno by February 28.

Of the eight cheetahs proposed for transfer to Kuno from Botswana, six are adults and two are less than 2 years old, according to Mr. Sharma.

Some cheetahs in Kuno will be shifted either to Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary, where three Kuno cheetahs have been released a few months ago, and Nauradeshi wildlife sanctuary, to accommodate the Botswana cheetahs, a forest officer said.

Both Gandhi Sagar and Nauradeshi are in Madhya Pradesh.

India’s cheetah project kicked off four years ago with the translocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno in September 2022 and another 12 cheetahs from South Africa to Kuno six months later.