Fourth cheetah dies in Kuno National Park

Officials suspect death is due to weakness

| Updated: 23 May, 2023 6:33 pm IST

This is the first time a cheetah cub has died in KNP

NEW DELHI: In yet another setback to India’s ambitious plan to reintroduce cheetahs in the country, another cub died at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.

Officials said that the cub died at 7 in the morning, and prima facie, the cause of death appears to be weakness.

With the latest death, the number of cheetahs, brought from South Africa and Namibia, who died at the park has now risen to four.

“The monitoring team of a female cheetah, Jwala, found her sitting in one place with her cubs. After some time, Jwala started walking with her cubs,” an official told The New Indian.

“The monitoring team saw three cubs, the fourth cub remained lying in its place. After observing for some time, the monitoring team went close to the cub for inspection,” he said.

The cub was found lying on the ground, unable to get up. It did try to raise its head upon seeing the members of the team. “Looking at the condition of the cub, the team immediately informed the veterinary team. The team tried to give the necessary treatment to the cheetah cub, but the cub died within a short time,” the official informed.

While the autopsy of the cub was being done, officials suspected that the cub died of weakness. They are trying to ascertain the details.

In general, the survival percentage of cheetah cubs in African countries is very low. According to the available literature and experts, the survival percentage in the open forest is only 10 per cent. Only 1 in 10 cheetah cubs make it to adulthood in the wild. “That is why the number of cubs born in general is the highest in cheetahs compared to other wild cat species,” the environment ministry stated.

Earlier, the deaths of ‘Uday’, ‘Sasha’ and ‘Daksha’ had sparked multiple questions regarding stress in animals.

In the transcontinental Project Cheetah, which aimed to repopulate the majestic wild cat in the country, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia at first. Soon, 12 more cheetahs were brought from South Africa.