Weeks after Namibian cheetah – Asha – gave birth to triplets, another cat, Jwala, has given birth to triplets in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.

Sharing the news with the public, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav posted a video on Instagram and wrote, “New cubs of Kuno! A Namibian cheetah named Jwala has given birth to three cubs. This comes just weeks after Namibian cheetah Asha gave birth to her cubs.

“Congratulations to all the wildlife frontline warriors and wildlife lovers across the country. May India’s wildlife flourish,” he said.

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On January 3, Kuno National Park officials reported that Namibian cheetah Asha had given birth to three cubs.

Jwala (Namibian name Siaya) also gave birth to four cubs last March. But unfortunately only one of them survived.

Jwala and Asha are among the cheetahs translocated from Namibia to India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Project Cheetah, which aims to reintroduce the only large carnivore species considered extinct in independent India.

The first batch of eight leopards was brought to India in September 2022.

The second batch of 12 leopards was brought from South Africa last February.

However, the much-hyped cheetah conservation project has come under sharp criticism over the death of seven of 20 adults imported from Namibia and South Africa.

According to officials, one of the biggest challenges in the first year of management of cheetahs in India was the unexpected development of winter coats by some animals during the Indian summer and monsoon, in anticipation of the African winter (June to September). ,

The winter coat combined with high humidity and temperatures caused itchiness, prompting the animals to scratch their necks on tree trunks or the ground. This caused injury to the skin and exposed it, where flies laid eggs, resulting in insect infestation and, ultimately, bacterial infection and septicemia, which led to the death of three leopards, an official said.

“The mortality rate so far under Project Cheetah has been within the expected limits. According to the Cheetah Action Plan, we expected a mortality rate of about 50 percent. Right now, apart from one cub born on Indian soil, 14 imported cheetahs are alive,” SP Yadav, additional director general of forests in the Union environment ministry, had earlier said.