Namibian female cheetah Jwala becomes mother for the second time, but never released in the wild
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Namibian cheetah Siyaya, now known as Jwala, has birthed her second litter. Photo: Cheetah Conservation Fund Weeks after Namibian cheetah Aasha gave birth to a litter of cubs, another cheetah Jwala has given birth to four cubs, making it the third litter since its arrival in India. The announcement was made by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on January 23, 2024.
Yadav posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Namibian Cheetah named Jwala has given birth to three cubs. This comes just weeks after Namibian Cheetah Aasha gave birth to her cubs.” However, Yadav on January 24 posted on X that forest department officials had discovered that four, not three cubs were born to Jwala.
The news of Aasha giving birth to three cubs was announced on January 3, 2023.
Read more: South Africa confirms signing of MoU to translocate more than 100 cheetahs to India
This is the second time that Jwala, previously known as Siyaya, has given birth. In March 2023, she was the first to produce four cubs on Indian soil. Only one female of the cubs survives at present. The others died of extreme heat and dehydration.
Uttam Sharma, chief conservator of forest at Kuno National Park, where the cheetahs were introduced in September 2022, said, “This is the second time in a month that cubs are born within a span of 25 days. All the cubs are healthy.”
Three new births take the tally of cheetahs at Kuno to 20, with 13 adults and seven cubs. Among the adults, there are six males and seven females.
More recently, on January 16, Namibian cheetah Shaurya was reported dead while undergoing treatment from veterinarians.
Sharma said that both Aasha and Jwala were mated with Pavan. Jwala was previously mated with Pavan as well.
A wildlife and cheetah expert requesting anonymity said Pavan is a good and safe breeding male. Female cheetahs need to be bred early to optimise their lifelong reproductive output. Breeding in a captive environment is tricky, the expert told Down To Earth.
In May 2023, Daksha was released from the enclosure to potentially mate with other two male cheetah, Agni and Vayu, which resulted in aggression, resulting in Daksha’s death.
However, so far, the forest department has encouraged breeding for female cheetahs from Namibia and not South Africa. India imported 12 cheetahs from South Africa and eight from Namibia.
Read more: The fate of the Cheetah Reintroduction Plan hangs in the balance
The expert shared concerns over this, saying that if they have not been introduced to breeding so far, their reproductive time has been wasted.
“It would be notified when South African cheetahs are introduced for breeding,” Sharma said.
The expert also raised concerns on why the cheetahs are not being released and kept confined to enclosure for months. “It is good for females to keep breeding, but why the delay in releasing cheetahs in free-ranging conditions?” the expert said.
In December, the forest department released three males: Agni, Vayu and Pavan (previously Oban); and one female Veera in free-ranging conditions. However, Agni was soon tranquilised and returned to enclosure after he ventured near the borders of Rajasthan.
The adult large carnivores should not be kept for more than three months after being captured from the wild, according to the Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia that mentions the regulations for keeping large carnivores in captivity. The time frame is 18 months for a juvenile.
The document states that extended stays during rehabilitation should only be permitted for veterinary reasons. Rehabilitation in the document means releasing the animals into the wild.
If the stay is extended for medical reasons, the carnivore should be euthanised or become a permanent captive large carnivore, the guidelines added. The rehabilitation facility must take care to avoid certain actions: the carnivore should not be exposed for public viewing, allowed to breed or brought into close contact with humans except for treatment or medical procedures.
The guidelines also demand a report from a veterinarian seeking explanation on the reasons why the carnivore cannot be released within the period mentioned.
In the case of India, the cheetahs have been confined since July 2023. The first batch of cheetahs after reaching India in September and February should have been released in free-ranging conditions after a month of quarantine as per the protocol. However, they were released between March and August 2023, the Introduction of Cheetah In India, annual report 2022-23 stated.
Cheetahs Jwala, Nabha, Sasha, Uday, Daksha and Tejas have never been released in the wild.
Meanwhile, head of Project Cheetah, SP Yadav, said cheetahs are not being released due to extreme weather conditions. “The decision on releasing will be reviewed according to suitable weather conditions,” he said. So far, there are no plans on releasing cheetahs in the wild, he added.
Another big cat expert pointed out that the reintroduction project was being treated as a captive breeding project. “KNP was chosen as it was the best suitable habitat for cheetahs. Why have the officials realised the weather conditions could be an issue just now?” they said.
Keeping the cheetahs captive for prolonged periods of time and breeding them in captivity doesn’t meet the conservation objectives as stated in the Cheetah Action Plan, said Ravi Chellam, chief executive for biodiversity-focused Metastring Foundation and coordinator for Biodiversity Collaborative.
The action plan stated objectives like conservation of open natural ecosystems and endangered species like the Great Indian Bustard, caracal and wolf.
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