All four cubs of cheetah KGP12, born in the wild at Kuno National Park in Sheopur, died on Tuesday. Senior park officials said a leopard likely killed them. The cubs were born on April 11. Officials had called them the country’s first wild-born cheetahs.
Forest staff found the cubs’ bodies near their den site. The monitoring team said the bodies had deep wounds and were partly eaten. Officials found the mother cheetah safe and moving nearby.
Kuno National Park field director Uttam Sharma said the cubs were under constant watch. On May 11, the team found them healthy and active. On Tuesday morning, staff discovered them dead in the forest.
Number of Cheetahs in India in 2026?
Over the past three years, 57 cheetah cubs were born at Kuno National Park. Out of them, 37 survived until now. Only four of these cubs were born in the wild, while 33 were raised inside soft-release enclosures.
After the latest incident, the number of surviving cubs has dropped to 33. At present, Kuno National Park has 50 cheetahs. Another three cheetahs are living at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Number of births in India
| Date or period | Female cheetah name | Number of cubs born | Notes |
| February 2025 | Veera | 2 | South African cheetah. |
| April 2025 | Nirva | 5 | At Kuno. |
| November 2025 | Mukhi | 5 | First Indian-born female cheetah to reproduce. |
| February 2026 | ‘Gamini | 4 | Gamini was translocated to India from South Africa |
| Date | Description |
| Late March 2023 | Three of four cubs born in March 2023 died (heat-related) |
| 24 April 2023 | A cheetah died of cardiac failure (adult, not cub) |
| 25 May 2023 | After the death of three cubs, a steering committee was set up |
Number of cheetahs currently in India
| Metric | Value | Notes |
| Total cheetahs in India | 35 | Report: India’s count up to 35 after 8 from Botswana handed over. |
Number of cheetahs imported from Africa
| Source country | Number imported | Notes |
| Namibia | 8 | First batch from Namibia in Sept 2022. |
| South Africa | 12 | Batch arrived Feb 2023. |
| Botswana | 8 (planned) | Another batch of 8 from Botswana expected. |
| Total from Africa (so far) | At least ~28 | Combining known from Namibia + South Africa + planned Botswana |
Number of deaths in India
| Metric | Value | Notes |
| Adult cheetah deaths | 6 adults (since March) | Report: “Since March, six of these adult cheetahs have died.” |
| Overall deaths reported early 2024 | ~10 animals | Report: “By January 2024, ten animals had died.” |
| May 13, 2026 | Four newborn cheetah cubs found dead at KNP | Kuno National Park |
Timeline of Cheetah in India
| Date | Event | Details |
| March 11, 2023 | Release of Cheetahs Oban and Aasha in Kuno National Park, MP, India | Successful hunting confirmed |
| March 22, 2023 | Release of Cheetahs Elton and Freddie | Total cheetahs in the wild: four |
| March 24, 2023 | Siyaya gives birth to four cubs | |
| April 2, 2023 | Oban escapes but is safely returned | |
| April 24, 2023 | Death of Cheetah Uday | Cause: Heart failure |
| May 9, 2023 | Death of Cheetah Daksha | Cause: Fight during mating |
| May 18, 2023 | Supreme Court orders spreading of cheetahs | Criticizes concentration |
| May 19, 2023 | Release of Cheetahs Agni, Vayu, and Gamini | Total cheetahs: six |
| May 23, 2023 | Death of a cheetah cub | Cause: Weakness |
| May 25, 2023 | Death of two more cheetah cubs | Cause: Heat and weakness |
| May 25, 2023 | Appointment of a new committee | Following the death of three cubs |
| May 28, 2023 | Release of Cheetah Neerva | Total cheetahs: seven |
| July 14, 2023 | Death of Cheetah Suraj | Eighth death in five months |
| August 2, 2023 | Death of Female Cheetah Tiblisi/Dhatri | Cause: Maggot infection, ninth death |
| January 3, 2024 | Aasha gives birth to three cubs | |
| January 16, 2024 | Death of Male Cheetah Shaurya | Total deaths: 10, cause unknown |
| June, 4, 2024 | Cubs born to South African cheetah ‘Gamini’ dead at the Kuno National Park | weakness |
| August 6, 2024 | Death of a five-month-old cheetah cub | Reported by PTI, cause to be determined |
| August 27, 2024 | Namibian Cheetah ‘Pawan’ Dies At Kuno National Park | The death is unusual, as it appears to have been caused by drowning. |
| Feb 2025 | Veera, a five-year-old South African cheetah, gave birth to two cubs | |
| April 28, 2025 | Cheetah Nirva gave birth to five cubs | Kuno National Park |
| Feb 07, 2026 | Aasha gives birth to five healthy cubs | Kuno National Park |
| Feb 18, 2026 | Cheetah named Gamini has given birth to four cubs at Kuno National Park | Kuno National Park |
| May 13, 2026 | Four newborn cheetah cubs found dead at Kuno National Park | Kuno National Park |
How Cheetahs Reproduce & What Timeline Looks Like
Cheetah reproduction follows a clear pattern. You can use these points to explain what wildlife staff look for and how long each stage takes.
Female cheetahs can enter heat at any time of the year. Males do not form long bonds. They pair with a female only during the mating period. A female can mate with more than one male, which means a single litter can have mixed paternity.
The wait after mating is short. The gestation period is about ninety to ninety-five days. Most litters range from three to five cubs, though smaller or larger litters can occur. Cubs are born blind and stay hidden for the first few weeks.
The next stage is slow. A mother stays with her cubs for about sixteen to eighteen months. During this period, the cubs learn stalking, chasing, and selecting prey. Most learning comes from watching the mother and attempting short hunts. Survival during this stage is low in the wild, so any successful litter is important for a growing population.
Once independent, young males often form small groups with siblings. Females usually separate and live alone. Both sexes reach sexual maturity at around twenty to twenty-four months.
You can ask: How will Mukhi teach her cubs skills she never learned from her own mother? Wildlife staff will track hunting attempts, prey choice, and movement to find the answer.
Gamini, an African cheetah, gave birth to six cubs in March this year, but sadly, one of them passed away on June 4 and another on August 5. The remaining 13 adult cheetahs and 11 cubs are currently healthy and in normal condition. According to the release, the adult cheetahs have received the necessary treatments to prevent tick and other parasitic infections. All cheetahs are being monitored regularly to ensure their well-being.
During routine monitoring on July 29, the five-month-old cub that later died was found unable to lift the hind portion of its body.
“Upon closer observation, the cub was seen dragging its entire hind portion,” an unnamed wildlife official told PTI. “The cub was immediately rescued and brought to the hospital, where it was discovered that its vertebral column was fractured.”
Journey of Cheetah Reintroduction in India
Soon after confirming that cheetahs had become extinct in the country in the 1950s, discussions began about bringing them back to India. There were plans to bring cheetahs from Iran in the 1970s, but due to political instability in Iran, these plans didn’t work out. In the 1980s, Kenya offered to send African cheetahs to India.
In 2009, the Indian government proposed introducing African cheetahs to India, but the Supreme Court rejected the proposal. However, in early 2020, the court reversed its decision and permitted the introduction of a small number of cheetahs to India on a trial basis to evaluate their long-term adaptation.
On September 17, 2022, they released eight cheetahs from Namibia, aged between four and six years, into a small quarantined area within Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. They fitted these cheetahs with radio collars, and they will stay in the quarantined area for a month. They will release the males first and then the females into the larger park area.
Yadvendradev V. Jhala from the Wildlife Institute of India and Laurie Marker, a zoologist from the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, supervised the relocation process. Later, they will release 12 more cheetahs from South Africa in Kuno, aiming to increase the total number of African cheetahs in Kuno to 40.
Unfortunately, as of January 16, 2024, seven adult cheetahs and three cubs (out of four born in Kuno two months earlier) had died in Kuno National Park.
Declining Cheetah Population
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) reported a significant decline in the global cheetah population. The population dropped from an estimated 15,000 adults in 1975 to fewer than 7,000 in 2023.
According to the National Geographic Society, human activities threaten cheetahs by encroaching on their habitat. Cheetahs are also at risk of contracting diseases spread by domestic cats. Other factors contributing to their decline include climate change, hunting, and low reproductive success.
Future Projects
In April, the Madhya Pradesh forest department requested an alternative site from the Centre after two cheetah deaths, citing “lack of logistical support and space” as key issues.
In June last year, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav confirmed that Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in northwestern Madhya Pradesh had been identified as a potential alternative site, but no concrete plans had been made to relocate the cheetahs.
Cheetah Mukhi and her story
Mukhi was born on March 29, 2023, at Kuno National Park. Her mother, Jwala, came from Namibia as part of India’s cheetah project. Mukhi was the only cub from the litter that survived. Her siblings died during a stretch of extreme heat, and she was abandoned soon after birth.
A veterinary team found her weak in May 2023. She struggled with dehydration and an injury to her right forelimb. Wildlife staff hand-reared her under strict protocols to keep her alive. They spent weeks helping her recover strength and movement. As she grew, they introduced live prey such as hares inside an enclosure. This helped her build the hunting skills needed for life in the wild.
Mukhi later entered rewilding exercises. She began hunting on her own and showed progress that surprised the team. During this period, she interacted with three male cheetahs born to Asha. One of them is believed to be the father of her five cubs.
Mukhi’s survival and reproduction mark a key moment for India’s cheetah project. She started life with abandonment, heat stress, and injury. She now stands as the first India-born cheetah at Kuno to raise a new generation, adding momentum to efforts to establish a stable cheetah population in the country.
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