MP: Asha, one among Cheetahs brought from Namibia, possibly pregnant, says official

Asha, one of the cheetahs re-introduced to the Indian landscape after more than seven decades by the Centre, is pregnant and likely to give birth in the coming months, said a forest official on Saturday.

Gwalior:The population of Cheetahs in India, recently re-introduced through an initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is likely to increase by a single count. Asha, one of the female cheetahs brought to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, is displaying signs of pregnancy, said forest officials from the state.

Noting Asha was displaying behavioral as well as hormonal signs of pregnancy, an official who wished not to be named stated that they needed to wait till the end of October to get a clear confirmation, adding that it usually takes about 55 days for a confirmation of the process.

Meanwhile, Dr. Laurie Marker, Executive Director of Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), highlighted that this would mark the first litter for Asha. She further stated that if true, the pregnancy took place in Namibia as the three-and-a-half-year-old was captured from the wild.

She would need privacy and distance from people if she was to give birth, Dr. Marker stated, also adding that a 'haybale hut' needed to be prepared near her enclosure for the process.

Introduced on September 17, the possible arrival of cheetah cubs in Kuno, however, is expected to be far from easy. As the proximity to bigger predators is higher in national parks and reserved areas, chances of survival for the cubs throughout infancy reduce significantly, the CCF further observed. Alongside Asha, three female cheetahs (Sisaya, Sasha, Tbilisi, and Savannah), as well as four male ones (Freddie, Elton, and Oban), have been transferred to Kuno.