Mukhi, a cheetah cub born on 29 March 2023 at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, recently reached adulthood.
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.
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.
This was the first-ever intercontinental relocation of a large wild carnivore.
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.
Project Cheetah director Uttam Kumar Sharma noted that on 29 September 2025, Mukhi turned 30 months old.
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.
Mukhi’s journey highlights the possibilities of successful species reintroduction and provides important lessons for future wildlife conservation efforts.