Five more cheetahs released from enclosure, now seven roam in the wild at Kuno National Park

Sheopur: Five more cheetahs were released from enclosures into the forest at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Wednesday.

With this, of the total 26 cheetahs at the KNP, seven are out in the wild.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released female cheetahs Dheera and Asha along with Asha's three cubs in the wild in the afternoon.

He also reviewed the Cheetah Project with the officials, he said.

"It is a matter of immense happiness to see that the cheetah, once extinct from Asia, is increasing its family in Madhya Pradesh," the CM said.

On Tuesday, CM Yadav had shared news that two cubs were born to cheetah Veera.

The KNP is now home to 26 cheetahs, including 14 cubs.

Earlier in December last year, cheetahs Vayu and Agni were released in the wild from their big enclosures.

On September 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight Namibian cheetahs -- five females and three males -- into enclosures at the KNP as part of the world's first intercontinental translocation of the big cats, seven decades after the animal became extinct in India due to hunting and habitat loss.