Another Cheetah Died In Kuno National Park, 8 Deaths In 4 Months

On August 2, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department reported that a more cheetah died at the Kuno National Park, bringing the overall death toll to nine.

The cause of the death is yet unknown, according to the forest department. One of the female cheetahs, Dhatri (Tiblisi), was discovered dead this morning. A post-mortem is being performed to ascertain the reason for the death”. This is the sixth adult cheetah fatality reported by the forest department in the national park.

A female cheetah is out in the open and is being closely observed by a team, according to the statement, while 14 cheetahs—seven males, six females, and one female cub—are housed in bomas in Kuno. To return her to the boma for a medical evaluation, efforts are being made.

One more #Cheetah in #Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has died, making it the ninth big cat death there in about five months. @KunoNationalPrk @ChouhanShivraj @OfficeofSSC pic.twitter.com/97nWLKGfEM

— Upendrra Rai (@UpendrraRai) August 2, 2023

In an endeavour to bring back the extinct cheetahs in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the eight cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) acquired from Namibia at Kuno National Park on September 17, 2016, the day of his birthday. Twelve additional cheetahs were imported from South Africa in February of this year.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had earlier informed the Supreme Court on August 1 that they had identified prospective places in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for the introduction of cheetahs. The NTCA had additionally informed the supreme court that the preliminary diagnostic of mortality events refers to natural causes and that none of them perished for reasons other than those that were natural, such as poaching, snaring, poisoning, traffic collisions, electrocution, etc. The Supreme Court had earlier expressed worry about the deaths of cheetahs in KNP and had urged the Centre to act favourably in this regard.

Following the recent deaths of several cheetahs, the Madhya Pradesh forest department is on high alert and carefully monitoring the health of the cat. With today’s death excluded, three cubs and five adult cheetahs have passed away at Kuno National Park in Sheopur district since March of this year.