Namibian Cheetah turns mom with four cubs, PM Modi calls it ‘wonderful news’

What is going to be a superb news for wild animal lovers of the country, a cheetah translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, has given birth to four healthy cubs, officials said on Wednesday.
The good news assumes significance in the wake of the death of another relocated female cheetah at the park two days ago.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too on Wednesday expressed happiness after  the three-year-old female cheetah ‹Siyaya›, gave birth to four cubs, terming it as «wonderful news».
Earlier, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav described the birth of four cubs as a momentous event in India›s wildlife conservation history during ‹AmritKaal›.
«I am delighted to share that four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs translocated to India on 17th September 2022, under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodiji (sic),» he tweeted.
«I congratulate the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back cheetahs to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past,» read another tweet by the Union Minister. The Minister congratulated the entire team of Project Cheetah for their relentless efforts in bringing back the large carnivore to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong perpetrated in the past. It must be mentioned here that under the ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the first batch of eight spotted felines — five females and three males — from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at the Kuno on his 72nd birthday on 17 September 2022. Later, twelve more cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released into Kuno in Sheopur district on February 18 this year. A senior official at Kuno National Park said the cubs were believed to have been born five days ago, but they were spotted by officials on Wednesday. `Siyaya›, their mother, and the cubs were fine and healthy, said Sheopur Divisional Forest Officer P K Varma. In fact, Siyaya has killed two animals since she became mother, officials said. She has been kept in a big enclosure at the park as of now. The twelve cheetahs brought from South Africa in February are housed in a quarantine enclosure and are healthy and active, officials said. «The cubs are safe in a pre-release enclosure. When the mother cheetah will bring out the cubs into the open, then we›ll know about their gender,» said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, J.S. Chouhan.