MP: Another African cheetah dies at Kuno National Park; second death in less than a month

In yet another setback for the ambitious Project Cheetah, another cheetah named Uday, translocated from South Africa to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, died on Sunday (April 23).

Officials said the cheetah, among 20 felines brought to India from South Africa and Namibia as part of the project, was six years old.

One of the eight Namibian cheetahs, Sasha, aged more than four-and-a-half-years, died of a kidney ailment at KNP on March 27.

“During the inspection in the morning, a cheetah (Uday) brought from South Africa was found dull with head down following which veterinarians attending him alerted senior officials and the feline was taken out from the large enclosure for treatment. Unfortunately, around 4 pm, the cheetah passed away,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife, J S Chauhan told PTI on Sunday.

Also read: India’s cheetah reintroduction plan ignored spatial ecology: Scientists

The exact cause of the feline’s death has not been identified yet.

An official release said the officials found Uday sluggish in his boma (enclosure) and a closer inspection revealed he was staggering.

“As per the inspection conducted on Saturday evening, Uday was found healthy. During inspection on Sunday morning, the medical team found that the cheetah was ailing. Following a due process, the cheetah was tranquilised on the advice of wildlife veterinarians and treatment was started at 11 AM,” it said.

The cheetah was treated under the monitoring of wildlife veterinarians and kept in the isolation ward but he died at around 4 PM, the release said.
Officials said the exact cause behind the cat’s death will be known after the autopsy report is out.

The Project Cheetah was launched last September to reintroduce the species in India, decades after it became extinct.

India’s last cheetah died in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the species was declared extinct in 1952.

Eight Namibian cheetahs, comprising five females and three males, were brought to the KNP with a core area of 748 sq km and its surrounding 487 sq km buffer zone, as part of the ambitious reintroduction programme. They were released into special enclosures on September 17, 2022, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also read: Sasha’s death in Kuno: A few blips won’t mean the end of Indian cheetah saga

On February 18 this year, 12 cheetahs, comprising seven males and five females, were brought to the KNP from South Africa.

Another cheetah, named Siyaya, recently gave birth to four cubs at the national park.

(With inputs from agencies)