Another African cheetah dies in suspected infighting in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park
Post Date – 10:20 PM, Tuesday – July 23rd 11th
Bhopal/Sheppel: Another African cheetah died in a suspected infighting in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) on Tuesday, the seventh feline fatality in four months, a senior forestry department official said.
Male cheetah Tejas was brought from South Africa to KNP in the Sheopur region in February this year.
Seven felines have died at KNP since March, including three cubs born to Namibian cheetah ‘Jwala’, a setback for a reintroduction program launched with much fanfare last September.
“Cheetah Tejas, about four years old, died in KNP due to suspected infighting,” Forest Chief Chief Conservation Officer (PCCF) Wildlife JS Chauhan told PTI.
The official said the feline was brought from South Africa as part of an ambitious cheetah reintroduction program and was being held in an enclosure when the incident occurred.
The latest fatality comes a day after KNP released two more male cheetahs into the wild.
Veterinarians were contacted after the monitoring team found some injuries to Tejas’ neck in Pen 6 at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, according to an official news release.
After obtaining approval to sedate the injured cheetah, a team of veterinarians arrived at the scene around 2pm but found the cat dead, sources said.
The statement said the investigation is ongoing and the exact cause of death of the big cat will be known upon receipt of the autopsy report.
Cheetah Jawara gave birth to four cubs in March this year, but three of them died in May due to dehydration and weakness.
After the last cheetah was hunted in the Korean region of present-day Chhattisgarh state in 1947, four Jwala cubs, previously named Siyaya, were born in the wild on Indian soil for the first time in September 2022 brought from Namibia.
One of them, Sasha, a Namibian cheetah, died of kidney disease on March 27, and another, Uday, a cheetah from South Africa, died on April 13.
Daksha, a cheetah brought from South Africa, died from his injuries after a violent confrontation with a male feline during a mating attempt on May 9.
Eight Namibian cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) were released into KNP’s enclosure on 17 September last year during a high-profile event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi .
In February, another 12 cheetahs arrived at KNP from South Africa.
The total number of cats in the national park has been reduced from 24 cheetahs (20 relocated from Namibia and South Africa, and 4 cubs born at KNP) to 17.
In 1952, the fastest land animal was declared extinct in the country.
Earlier in the day, another forest official said two more cheetahs – Prabhash and Pavak – were released into the KNP’s wild on Monday, bringing the number of such felines to 12.
PK Verma, Sheopur’s divisional forest officer, said both trees were brought from South Africa.
