The cheetah had been extinct in India for over 70 years.
Hunted to oblivion, their habitat stripped away, the last confirmed wild cheetah in India was shot in 1947. For seven decades, they were gone from the subcontinent entirely — a species present in Mughal paintings and ancient texts, but absent from any living landscape.
Then, in September 2022, eight cheetahs arrived from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The world watched. Many were sceptical. Intercontinental translocation of a large carnivore had never been attempted before.
Three years later, Project Cheetah is exceeding every expectation.
In February 2026 alone, two separate litters were born at Kuno. On February 7, Aasha — one of the original Namibian females — gave birth to five cubs. On February 18, South African female Gamini delivered three more. A fourth cub from Gamini's litter was identified on February 28, bringing her total to four.
With these arrivals, India's cheetah population has reached 39 — including 28 cubs born on Indian soil.
"These births are a testament to the dedication of our field staff, veterinary teams, and all those involved in Project Cheetah," said Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav, calling each new litter "a crucial milestone."
The fact that two of the founding females — one Namibian, one South African, from entirely different populations — are successfully breeding in the same season speaks to the depth of the programme's success. The cheetahs have adapted. They are hunting. They are raising young.
For conservationists, this represents something rare: a second chance that is actually working.
For India, it's something more. The cheetah is returning not as a museum exhibit or a zoo attraction, but as a wild animal, moving across grasslands under an Indian sky — as it did for thousands of years before it was taken away.
28 cubs. 28 chances at a future.
Welcome back. 🐆