One of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia died on Sunday at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP). Uday died at the age of six years, a forest department official told the news agency PTI.
It is important to note that this is the second such incident in almost a month. Earlier ‘Sasha’ died due to kidney ailment. The more than four-and-a-half years old female cheetah was among the eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia in September last year.
“During the inspection in the morning, a cheetah brought from South Africa was found dull with head down following which veterinarians attending him alerted senior officials and the feline was taken out from the large enclosure for treatment. Unfortunately, around 4 pm, the cheetah passed away,” principal chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife, J S Chauhan told PTI.
The dead cheetah was identified as Uday, another forest official said.
On September 17, which was his birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs – five females and three males – into the KNP. The translocation of cheetahs was part of a project aimed at reviving their population in India where these cat species became extinct more than 70 years ago.
Upon arrival, cheetahs were kept in hunting enclosures at the park before their full release into the wild. So far, four of these eight cheetahs have been released into the wild. On March 11, two cheetahs – Oban and Asha – were released into the wild, almost six months after they were brought to the KNP.
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