Since the inception of March 2023, a total of seven adult cheetahs, imported from Namibia, along with three cubs born in India, have met their demise. Adding to this unfortunate toll, another cheetah, initially brought from Namibia in September 2022, succumbed to its fate at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. With the demise of Shaurya, the count of adult cheetahs and Indian-born cubs reaching the end of their lives since March 2023 has risen to seven.
The director of the cheetah relocation project, responsible for overseeing this ambitious endeavor, emphasized in an official statement that the precise cause of these fatalities could only be determined through post-mortem examinations. The tragic sequence of events leading to Shaurya's demise unfolded around 11 am, as the tracking team noticed signs of incoordination and a staggering gait. Subsequently, the cheetah was tranquilized, revealing weakness upon examination. Despite efforts to revive the animal, complications arose post-revival, rendering the creature unresponsive to CPR. A conclusive cause of death remains pending until the completion of post-mortem investigations.
Under the banner of the government's Project Cheetah, a total of 20 cheetahs were relocated from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park in two distinct batches. The initial batch arrived in September 2022, followed by the second in February 2023. This initiative constitutes India's ambitious endeavor to reintroduce cheetahs into the wild, as these majestic creatures faced extinction in the country nearly seven decades ago.
Tragically, the narrative of cheetah fatalities at the Kuno National Park continued in August 2023, with the discovery of the lifeless body of a female cheetah named 'Dhatri.' Earlier, in March, a Namibian cheetah named Sasha succumbed to kidney complications. The subsequent months witnessed the demise of Uday on April 13, followed by the alleged violent demise of a female cheetah named Daksha, who originated from South Africa and reportedly perished due to an altercation with two male cheetahs during mating.
The sorrowful string of losses extended to the cubs as well, with three out of four offspring born to a female Namibian cheetah meeting their end in the same month. Further, on July 11 and 14, two male cheetahs, Tajas and Suraj, succumbed to multiple organ failure.
The causes behind these distressing cheetah deaths have been a subject of scrutiny among experts. Proposed factors include intra-species conflicts, diseases, and injuries sustained during hunting activities. Additionally, potential causes such as attacks by other animals and heatstroke have been put forth as contributing factors.
However, a particularly controversial element in this narrative is the possibility of infection caused by radio collars. Some experts contend that these collars, utilized for tracking and monitoring animals, may have led to skin infections, subsequently resulting in maggot infestations and septicemia, a type of blood infection. In response to this concern, an intervention was carried out to remove the radio collars, aiming to mitigate the potential risks associated with their usage.
