{"id":505240,"date":"2026-02-28T12:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T12:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/505240\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T12:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T12:38:08","slug":"kuno-nine-cheetahs-from-botswana-boost-indias-big-cat-revival-drive-at-kuno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/505240\/","title":{"rendered":"kuno: Nine cheetahs from Botswana boost India\u2019s big-cat revival drive at Kuno"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nine cheetahs flown in from Botswana<\/a> arrived safely on Saturday at Kuno<\/a> National Park in Sheopur, taking the total number of the species in India to 48 and providing a fresh boost to the country\u2019s ambitious population-revival programme.<\/p>\n

The big cats \u2014 the third batch brought from Africa under the four-year reintroduction plan \u2014 were transported aboard an aircraft of the Indian Air Force<\/a> to Gwalior before being airlifted by military helicopters to the park. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav<\/a> is scheduled to release them into specially prepared enclosures.<\/p>\n

The latest arrivals follow earlier translocations from Namibia and South Africa<\/a>, part of a long-term effort to re-establish a viable wild cheetah population decades after the species went extinct in India.
Officials say expanding numbers and dispersing animals across habitats is key to the programme\u2019s success. Three cheetahs have already been shifted to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife<\/a> Sanctuary, while most remain at Kuno. Conservationists stress that housing all animals in a single habitat risks disease outbreaks that could devastate the population.<\/p>\n

Breeding<\/a> results have shown encouraging signs. Since 2023, 39 cubs have been born at Kuno, with 27 surviving. Earlier this year alone, nine cubs were born in two litters between February 7 and 18. Several adult cheetahs \u2014 including Jwala, Aasha, Gamini, Veera, Nirva and Mukhi<\/a> \u2014 have successfully produced offspring, strengthening hopes that the reintroduction effort can achieve its near-term goal of reaching a population of 50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nine cheetahs flown in from Botswana arrived safely on Saturday at Kuno National Park in Sheopur, taking the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[201497,19127,60061,49,48,201496,166722,201494,201495,66,5685,323],"class_list":["post-505240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-bhupender-yadav","tag-botswana","tag-breeding","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-gandhi-sagar-wildlife","tag-indian-air-force","tag-kuno","tag-mukhi","tag-science","tag-south-africa","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}