Namibian Cheetah Siyaya delivers 4 cubs at Kuno National Park in MP
    Date :30-Mar-2023

Namibian Cheetah Siyaya delivers 4 cubs  
 
 
By Ankita Garg
BHOPAL,
A Cheetah translocated from Namibia to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh under Cheetah Project, on Wednesday, gave birth to 4 cubs, who brought some happiness on the faces of authorities and wildlife lovers after the death of one of the Cheetahs, Sasha, on Monday. The cubs have been delivered by Siyaya and all of them are healthy,
officials said. Forest officials associated with the project said that this is a positive sign that cheetahs are adapting well to the new environment. The news brought laurels to the forest officials as this is a big success of India’s Cheetah Project. Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav has shared the pictures and videos of new-born cubs on his Twitter handle. After death of female cheetah Sasha, forest officials and wildlife enthusiasts were in grief. District Forest Officer (DFO) P K Verma informed that compartment number four and five are connected to each other. In five number compartment, three-year-old Siyaya was residing with Sasha. In compartment number four, male cheetah Freddy and Eldon brothers were living. Sources said that father of cubs may be Eldon or Freddy.
Sources told that cheetah has delivered cubs on March 24. Forest officials said that in a study it has been found that cheetah cubs apparently have high mortality rate. 90 per cent of cheetah cubs die before adulthood. It is tough to see a cheetah cub grown up. 29 per cent of cubs die within six months and only 20 to 30 per cent reach adulthood. In the year 2013, a study was conducted in Africa to check the life of cheetah in which it was found that hardly 36 per cent cheetah cubs attain adulthood. Besides, life of a female cheetah is very tough as she takes care of on an average nine cubs all alone. She kills prey frequently to feed the cubs. Female cheetah protects her cubs all alone.
The four new-born cubs can be said to be ‘Indian cheetahs’, born in the wild on Indian soil after the last cheetah was hunted in Korea district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947. This fastest land animal species was declared extinct in the country in 1952.