What Mukhi’s Survival Reveals About India’s 70-Year Fight To Bring Back Cheetahs

India’s first cheetah cub

Mukhi, a cheetah cub born on 29 March 2023 at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, recently reached adulthood.

Photo Credit : Deccan Herald

A historic comeback

This is a significant milestone for India’s Project Cheetah, an effort to reintroduce cheetahs into India after they were declared extinct in 1952 due to habitat loss and hunting.

Photo Credit : Deccan Herald

Project Cheetah was launched on 17 September 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi oversaw the release of eight Namibian cheetahs into a specially designated enclosure at Kuno.

Photo Credit : The Informly

This was the first-ever intercontinental relocation of a large wild carnivore.

Survival against odds

According to reports, Mukhi was the sole survivor among four cubs. Her three siblings succumbed to a severe heatwave shortly after birth.

After Mukhi was abandoned by her mother, Jwala, a cheetah from Namibia, she was cared for by forest officers at Kuno National Park.

Photo Credit : Deccan Herald

Marking a milestone

Project Cheetah director Uttam Kumar Sharma noted that on 29 September 2025, Mukhi turned 30 months old.

Photo Credit : Deccan Herald

At present, India has 27 cheetahs, including 16 born in the country, with 24 in Kuno and three in the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharma said.

Photo Credit : The Informly

Mukhi’s journey highlights the possibilities of successful species reintroduction and provides important lessons for future wildlife conservation efforts.