Bhopal: A thrilling sight of five cheetah cubs romancing with monsoon rains under watchful eyes of their mother, Gamini, in Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh was captured on camera by the forest officials on Friday.A video of the rare sight was soon posted by Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupendra Yadav on social media platform X which attracted 3,77,000 viewers and 1,032 likes within a few hours.In the video clip, the cubs were seen in a playful mood, pushing, kicking and climbing on each other under the watchful eyes of their mother Gamini, the South African cheetah brought along with eleven others to KNP in a cheetah reintroduction project a couple of years ago.While narrating how the cheetah cubs were enjoying the monsoon rains in Kuno National Park on Friday morning, a caption tagged with the video in Mr Yadav’s post read, “Together, they weave a timeless tale of familial harmony amidst nature’s seasonal embrace”.Gamini had given birth to five cubs in Kuno on March 10 this year.“High Five, Kuno! Female cheetah Gamini, age about five years, brought from Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa, has given birth to 5 cubs today. This takes the tally of Indian-born cubs to 13. This is the fourth cheetah litter on Indian soil and first litter of cheetahs brought from South Africa”, the Union minister had proudly announced in a post in X on March 10. Eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia to KNP in the first ever intercontinental translocation of carnivores in September 2022 in the maiden cheetah reintroduction project in India.Three months later, 12 cheetahs were trans-located from South Africa to KNP.Three female cheetahs have meanwhile given birth to cubs.Some of the cheetahs in Kuno have perished due to various reasons.Kuno now has 26 cheetahs comprising seven females, six males and 13 cubs.
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