Another cheetah dies at Kuno National Park, 9th since March

By India Today News Desk: A female cheetah 'Dhatri' was found dead in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Wednesday morning. Officials are conducting a post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death.

This is the ninth death since March at the Kuno National Park where 20 cheetahs were imported from South Africa and Namibia as part of an ambitious initiative known as Project Cheetah. The project aims to repopulate the Indian landscape with these majestic felines, which had become extinct in the country nearly seven decades ago.

Among the nine cheetahs that have died are three cubs that were born from the cheetahs brought from Africa.

The causes of these deaths have been attributed to various factors. Some experts suggest that intra-species fights, diseases, accidents before and after release, and injuries sustained during hunting could be potential causes. Predatory attacks by other animals and heatstroke have also been cited as possible reasons.

There is also controversy around the use of radio collars on cheetahs. Some experts have argued that these collars, which are used for tracking and monitoring the animals, have led to skin infections due to constant wetness during the monsoon season. These infections reportedly attracted flies, leading to maggot infestations and septicaemia, a serious blood infection that proved fatal for some of the cheetahs.

'NOT ALARMING'

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) maintain that the mortalities are due to natural causes and are not unduly alarming. They assert that none of the cheetahs have died due to unnatural reasons such as poaching, snaring, poisoning, road hits, or electrocution.

In response to the deaths, several measures have been taken to ensure the well-being of the surviving cheetahs. These include capturing and conducting critical medical examinations on all remaining cheetahs, administering prophylactic treatment, and consulting international experts for further training and capacity building in cheetah management.

Despite these efforts, the high mortality rate among the reintroduced cheetahs continues to raise serious concerns about the viability of the project and the future of these magnificent creatures in India.