Explainer: Why relocated cheetahs continue to die | India News

Days after the Centre assured the Supreme Court that the best possible veterinary support was being provided to cheetahs in India, one more African feline died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.

Ninth death
So far, nine cheetahs have died at KNP since March. “This morning, one of the female cheetahs — Dhatri (Tbilisi) — was found dead. A post-mortem is being conducted to determine the cause of death,” the state forest department said in a statement.

Last month, two cheetahs died due to infection in wounds caused by the radio collars around their necks. However, the environment ministry said all cheetah deaths were due to natural causes.
How many are left?
Fourteen cheetahs – seven males, six females and a female cub – are kept in enclosures in Kuno. A team comprising Kuno wildlife veterinarians and a Namibian expert regularly monitors their health.
One female cheetah is out in the open and is under intensive monitoring by the team. Efforts are underway to bring her back to an enclosure for a health examination, the statement said.
What experts said
Experts involved in the cheetah reintroduction project had told PTI that heavy rain, extreme heat, and humidity may have caused the problems, “with the collars fitted around the necks of the cheetahs potentially causing additional complications”.
What court said
On July 20, the Supreme Court had said the death of eight cheetahs (until then) in the KNP in less than one year did not present a “good picture”, and asked the Centre to not make it a prestige issue and explore the possibility of shifting the animals to different sanctuaries.
The government told the court cheetah deaths were not alarming as the survival rate of big cats is much lower. It also ruled out that deaths were due to any “inherent unsuitability at the Kuno site”.
The project
Under the much-vaunted Project Cheetah, a total of 20 animals were imported from Namibia and South Africa to the KNP in two batches – one in September last year and the second in February this year. Later, four cubs were born in the national park.