10th cheetah dies at MP's Kuno park
Shaurya, a cheetah translocated from Namibia, died at Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, ANI reported. Shaurya's death makes it the 10th such case since the cheetah reintroduction project began in 2022. According to reports, a tracking team noticed Shaurya exhibiting unsteady movements and an uncoordinated gait around 11am. The cheetah was tranquilized and examined.
Official statement on Shaurya's death
An official statement from the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Director, Lion Project, confirmed the report. "Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3 17pm, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away." "...the animal was tranquilized and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR," the statement added. The exact cause of death will be determined after a post-mortem examination is performed, it said.
APCCF's statement on cheetah death
Cheetah Project
Eight cheetahs were brought to Kuno from Namibia on September 17, 2022 after a decades-long effort to restore a species that was declared extinct from the country in 1952. Another 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa on February 18, 2023. Four cubs were born in 2023 in March at Kuno. India reportedly plans to bring in five to 10 cheetahs each year over the next decade, with the goal of establishing a viable population of approximately 35 cheetahs.
Case in SC on cheetah deaths
The string of cheetah deaths last year led to a clutch of pleas being filed in the Supreme Court, seeking its intervention in the matter. In August 2023, SC said that it had "no reason to disbelieve" the Centre on efforts being undertaken to stop the deaths of cheetahs. The bench, however, remarked that the death of six out of 20 cheetahs brought into the country, and three of four cubs born in India, is "not low".
New cheetah cubs in Kuno
Earlier this month, Asha, a Namibian cheetah, which was translocated to Madhya Pradesh, gave birth to three cubs at Kuno National Park. "The cubs are healthy. Asha gave birth to cubs in the big predator-free enclosure seven days ago. We are happy that the population of cheetahs is increasing naturally," Uttam Kumar Sharma, field director, KNP said on January 3.
