Namibian Mother cheetah, Siyaya, gave birth to four cubs in Kuno NP
Siyaya, one of the eight cheetahs brought to India recently from Namibia, gave birth to four cubs in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in the last week of March. This is a historic moment for the rehabilitation history of the cheetah in India.
- It is to be noted that these are the first cheetah cubs born in India in more than 70 years since the extinction of cheetahs in the year 1952.
- The gender of these four cubs could not be ascertained immediately. It takes at least three months to know this. Only after this they will be given names according to their gender.
- Cheetahs reach breeding age between 20 and 24 months, and their gestation period is between 90 and 100 days. Since these cheetahs were released in Kuno National Park in September 2022, their breeding process took place in Kuno only.
Cheetahs
- Cheetah is the fastest running animal on earth. It can run up to 70 mph (112 km/h) across grasslands to catch prey.
- It was officially extinct in India in 1952 due to hunting, habitat loss and not enough prey to eat.
- Most of the 7,000 cheetahs left in the world are now in African countries; They are found in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
- Namibia has the largest population of cheetahs in the world.
- The Asiatic Cheetah is Critically Endangered and is now found only in Iran. There are only about 50 cheetahs left.
- The cheetah (African cheetah) is listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- The cheetah is protected under Appendix-I of the ‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’ (CITIES) from July 1, 1975, and its international trade is restricted for commercial use.
Source – Indian Express
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