An Indian-born female cheetah, KJP21, has given birth to five healthy cubs at Kuno National Park, taking India’s total cheetah population to 60, including 41 cheetahs born on Indian soil. The development was announced by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday and marks another milestone for Project Cheetah, which was launched in 2022 to reintroduce the species to India after it was declared extinct in the country in 1952. The latest births also increase the number of cheetahs belonging to the next generation born in India.

KJP21, a 32-month-old female, is the third Indian-born female cheetah to reproduce, following Mukhi and KGP12. Yadav described the birth as an important milestone in the emergence of the next generation of India’s cheetah population. Mukhi, the first cheetah cub born on Indian soil after the species’ extinction, herself became a mother to five cubs in November 2025, marking the beginning of second-generation reproduction under Project Cheetah. The arrival of KJP21’s litter further demonstrates that cheetahs born in India are reaching reproductive age and contributing to population growth.

The five cubs also carry significance for the genetic development of India’s growing cheetah population. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the father of KJP21’s cubs is a male cheetah from Botswana. Yadav said the litter therefore marks the beginning of the Botswanan lineage in India, adding a new genetic line to the country’s cheetah population. India received nine cheetahs from Botswana in February 2026 as part of efforts to expand the genetic diversity of the reintroduced population and build a viable population over the longer term.

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Project Cheetah began in September 2022 with the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia at Kuno National Park. A further 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa in February 2023, while additional animals have subsequently arrived from African countries. Cheetahs began breeding in India in 2023, and the number of India-born animals has continued to increase through successive litters. A government backgrounder published in December 2025 said India was working towards establishing a self-sustaining cheetah metapopulation of 60–70 animals across suitable landscapes by 2032.

Kuno has remained the central site for the reintroduction programme because of its suitable habitat and prey base. The park has also seen several successful births since the project began, including litters from cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa. In March 2026, the government reported that the birth of five cubs to Jwala had taken the country’s cheetah population to 53, demonstrating the pace at which the population has been expanding through natural reproduction. The latest increase to 60 comes less than a year after Mukhi’s first litter, further adding to the number of animals born in India.

Yadav congratulated the veterinarians, field staff, managers and others involved in Project Cheetah, crediting their continued work for the latest development. The birth of KJP21’s five cubs comes during Wildlife Week 2026 and represents another step in India’s effort to establish a sustainable cheetah population. With 41 of the 60 animals now Indian-born, the latest figures underline the growing contribution of natural reproduction to the reintroduction programme and the emergence of a new generation of cheetahs on Indian soil.

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