Expected such mortality rates: South Africa on cheetah deaths in Kuno National Park in MP

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) of South Africa, issued a statement linked to the death of the two cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Thursday, saying such mortality rates for a project of this sort are expected.

In a statement issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa said, "The cheetah joined eight of the mammals relocated to India's Kuno National Park from Namibia in September 2022. The two cheetah deaths (one from Namibia and one from South Africa) observed to date are within expected mortality rates for a project of this nature."

As part of an initiative to expand the cheetah meta-population and to reintroduce cheetahs to their former range, the cheetahs were brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

The statement further said, "Large carnivore reintroductions are extremely complex and inherently risky operations. This is a critical phase of the project, with cheetahs being released into larger environments where there is increasingly less control over their day-to-day wellbeing. “

“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) awaits a diagnosis (an autopsy) for the death of the cheetah, but there is no indication that it is any form of infectious disease or that there is a similar threat to any of the other cheetahs", the statement added.

The statement additionally said, "All the South African cheetahs are in larger enclosures and are closely monitored twice daily. As they are wild cheetahs, their behaviour, movements, and body condition must be evaluated from a distance, limiting the ability of teams on the ground to gain precise knowledge of their health status.""The remaining eleven South African cheetahs will be released into free-ranging conditions over the next two months. Kuno is an unfenced protected area that supports a high density of competing predators, including leopards, wolves, sloth bears, and striped hyenas. It is anticipated that, as observed with cheetah reintroductions in Africa, a few of the founder population may be lost within the first-year post-release", the statement said.

Reportedly, a six-year-old cheetah named Uday, who was brought to India from South Africa, died on April 23 following the death of five-year-old Sasha, on March 27, one of the eight cheetahs brought to India from Namibia, who succumbed to kidney failure after she was diagnosed with a kidney infection in January.