New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday (November 20) announced that Mukhi, a cheetah born in India, has delivered five cubs at the Kuno National Park. He described the development as a “landmark achievement” for Project Cheetah.

Mukhi, now 33 months old has become the first India-born cheetah to successfully reproduce in recent history, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 

Posting the update on X, Yadav said both the mother and her newborns are healthy, emphasising that the birth is a “strong indicator of the species’ adaptation, health, and long-term prospects in Indian habitats”. 

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“A historic milestone has been achieved as Indian-born cheetah Mukhi has given birth to five cubs in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. The mother and cubs are doing well. This is an unprecedented breakthrough for India’s cheetah reintroduction initiative. Mukhi, the first Indian-born female cheetah at 33 months of age, has now become the first India-born cheetah to reproduce making it a landmark achievement for Project Cheetah,” Yadav wrote. 

He added: “The successful reproduction of an India-born cheetah is a strong indicator of the species’ adaptation, health, and long-term prospects in Indian habitats. This significant step forward strengthens optimism about establishing a self-sustaining and genetically diverse cheetah population in India, further advancing the nation’s conservation goals.”

Similarly, in a post on X, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change called the development a “historic milestone”. 

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh pointed out that Mukhi was born from Jwala, one of the cheetahs brought from Namibia. "This achievement in cheetah conservation demonstrates that this species, brought from the forests of Africa, is adapting well to the Indian environment. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, this is a success of @moefcc's Project Cheetah and a milestone in increasing the population of this magnificent creature that became extinct in India seven decades ago," Singh wrote on X.

Project Cheetah, which kicked off on September 17, 2022, aims to introduce African cheetahs into select grassland habitats in central India. Currently, all cheetahs – adults that came from Namibia and South Africa, as well as cubs born on Indian soil – are housed in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.

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