NEW DELHI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- India's federal environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday said a female cheetah brought in from Namibia has given birth to four cubs.

The cheetah was translocated to India in September last year as part of the government's ambitious cheetah reintroduction project.

Yadav termed it as a momentous event in India's wildlife conservation.

"I am delighted to share that four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs translocated to India on 17th September 2022," Yadav said in a brief statement posted on social media.

The encouraging news comes after one of the first eight cheetahs that were translocated to India died due to kidney ailment on Monday at Kuno National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

India's cheetah reintroduction program is aimed at reviving the population of cheetahs in India, where they became extinct over 70 years ago.

Prior to their extinction from India in 1952, cheetahs used to share space with other big cats like lions and tigers in the forests.

The Indian government declared the transportation of cheetahs last year into India as the "world's first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project".

Last month 12 more cheetahs -- seven males and five females -- were brought to Kuno National Park from South Africa. Enditem

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