Another cheetah found dead at MP's Kuno National Park, remaining 14 'healthy'

One more Cheetah was found dead in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park Wednesday (August 2) morning. The cause of the death of the female Cheetah Dhatri (Tiblisi) is yet to be determined. The body of the Cheetah has been sent for post-mortem, authorities at the Kuno National Park said. “Today one of the female cheetahs, Dhatri (Tiblisi), was found dead. To determine the cause of the death, post-mortem is being conducted,” Aseem Srivastava, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said. 

Notably in a recent affidavit filed at the Supreme Court in connection with the death of 5 Cheetahs and 3 cubs in the Kuno National Park, the Centre stated the deaths had occurred due to ‘natural causes’ and not due to the “inherent unsuitability” of the Kuno National Park site.   

Other Cheetahs healthy

“All the 14 cheetahs (07 males, 06 females and 01 female cub) kept in bomas in Kuno National Park are healthy and their health is being regularly monitored by the team comprising of Kuno wildlife veterinarians and the Namibian expert,” said Aseem Srivastava.

He further added that the two other Cheetahs roaming in the open are being actively monitored. “The two remaining female cheetahs that are still out in the open are being intensively monitored daily by a Namibian expert, a Kuno veterinarian and a management team and efforts are being made to bring them back to bomas for their health examination.”

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, along with the National Tiger Conservation Authority, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on July 31. The affidavit addressed the troubling incident of the five adult cheetahs and three cubs that were found dead at Kuno National Park. The Ministry's affidavit emphasised there are 15 adult cheetahs and one Indian-born cub living at the park. Among them, the authorities captured 14, including the cub, and performed thorough medical examinations to ensure their well-being.

As part of Project Cheetah, 20 radio-collared animals were translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Among them, 'Jwala,' the Namibian cheetah, gave birth to four cubs. Unfortunately, out of the 24 cheetahs, eight have already perished, including three cubs.