New Delhi, 18 February (H.S.): In a resounding triumph for India's cheetah reintroduction odyssey, three robust cubs were born to South African-imported cheetah Gamini at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on or around Tuesday, elevating the nation's cheetah cohort to 38 and marking the ninth successful litter on sovereign soil.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav heralded the glad tidings via X, lauding Gamini—now a second-time mother—as emblematic of Project Cheetah's fruition three years post its September 17, 2022, inception, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released Namibia-sourced inaugural octet into Kuno's precincts, inaugurating the globe's premier intercontinental translocation of a large carnivore.

With 27 Indian-born cubs hitherto thriving, Yadav extolled field personnel and veterinary squads for their indefatigable vigilance, dubbing it a proud pinnacle of wildlife stewardship: May Gamini and her trio of sprinters flourish vigorously, perpetuating India's cheetah renaissance with velocity and elegance.

This pioneering endeavor—world's first such transcontinental feat—heralds adaptive viability and genetic vitality for the extinct-in-India species since 1952, fortifying self-sustaining metapopulations amid rigorous monitoring.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar