Bhopal: India after seven decades is all set to give birth to a cub as ‘Aasha’ one of the four female big cats introduced at Kuno National Park. According to forest officers, Aasha has been showing signs of pregnancy.
“The female cheetah Aasha, suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is exhibiting all the behavioural, physical, and hormonal signs of pregnancy. “We are excited but we’ll have to wait till October-end to be sure,” said an officer
According to Dr Marker, Executive director of Cheetah Conservation Fund who made it to India along with the big cats, the pregnancy adds to the complexity of the project. She focused on the need for trained staff on the ground to help manage the cheetah cubs as they have a high mortality rate in protected areas like national parks and wildlife reserves. She needs space and peace to lower her stress so that she can focus on rearing her cubs,” Dr. Marker said.
After the translocation to MP’s Kuno from Namibia on September 17, she has adapted well to her new home under the constant watch of WII-Dehradun and the MP forest department. Apart from her, three male cheetahs – Freddie, Elton, and Oban, and four females – Siyaya, Sasha, Tbilisi, and Savannah arrived from Namibia on the same day.