Union Forest Minister Bhupendra Yadav on July 15 said a dedicated team was investigating into the recent Cheetah deaths at Kuno National Park, adding that they would not be shifted outside Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking on the recent deaths of Cheetahs in the State, Bhupendra Yadav said a team was put together to look into the arrangements for the Cheetahs in the State and international specialists were conducting a review on the same.
“Our team is looking into the entire arrangement and testing for cheetahs and a review is underway. Even international experts have been roped in for the purpose. We are committed to taking good care of the Cheetahs. Our team will also visit Kuno. We had reviewed the arrangements earlier as well. We are aware of all the concerns but the Cheetahs will not be shifted from Madhya Pradesh,” the Union Forest Minister Bhupendra Yadav said.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, JS Chouhan, said the cause of death of the cheetah that perished on July 14 will be known after a post-mortem.
Speaking to ANI, JS Chouhan said, “One more male cheetah named Suraj died in Kuno, taking the toll thus far to 8. The cause of death will be known after the post-mortem. There are frequent deaths in such projects. If these deaths are taking place naturally then we shouldn’t panic.”
Earlier on May 25, National Tiger Conservation Authority formed a high-level screening committee for the Government of India’s ambitious “Project Cheetah” in response to the recent deaths of six cheetahs, including three new-born cubs, in a span of two and a half months in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.
The project’s nodal agency, National Tiger Conservation Authority, constituted a screening committee comprising 11 members. The committee’s formation was decided upon during a meeting with the Madhya Pradesh Government’s additional chief secretary. The Secretary General of Global Tiger Forum, Dr Rajesh Gopal, will head the committee.
The cheetah cubs were about eight weeks old and looked weak and dehydrated, maybe due to an extreme heatwave in the region. The mother cheetah from Namibia conceived for the first time. The cubs had only recently begun to walk with their mother for the last 8-10 days.
Recently, the adult female cheetah Sasha from Namibia died due to severe renal infections. On April 23, male South African cheetah Uday died due to cardiopulmonary failure, and 16 days later, female cheetah Daksha died.
As per the MP Forest Department sources, the youngest and weakest of the four siblings passed away on May 23. The cub died on the hottest day of this summer, and the temperature was reported in the range of 46–47 degrees Celsius.
A dedicated team was monitoring Namibian female Siyaya/Jwala and three surviving cubs and found that the health condition of the cubs was not normal. Veterinarians rescued the three cubs and gave them attentive care, but despite their best efforts, only one cub survived.
