NEW DELHI, Jul 12 (NNN-PTI) – A South African male cheetah has died at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, local media reported.
This is the seventh feline fatality at the park since March.
The animal died yesterday, which is suspected to be caused by infighting.
According to officials, the park’s monitoring team observed injury marks on the cheetah’s neck, late in the morning, following which they immediately contacted the veterinarians. The cheetah was inspected and subsequently sedated for the treatment of injuries.
“The male cheetah was found dead at around 2:00 p.m. (local time). His injuries are being probed. The cause of death can be ascertained after an autopsy,” the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, J. S. Chouhan, was quoted in the media as having said.
Last month a male cheetah was also injured in a fight with other cheetahs at the park. But his condition was later termed to be stable.
Wildlife experts say, cheetahs tend to hold large home ranges and it was not surprising for them to clash with other groups coming near them.
In Sept, last year, the Indian government reintroduced cheetahs in the country for the first time, decades after declaring them extinct from their Indian habitat. Eight cheetahs, five females and three males, were flown from Windhoek in Namibia to Madhya Pradesh, in a customised cargo plane and kept at KNP.
Later on, in Feb, this year, a second batch of 12 more cheetahs was flown from South Africa.
The first death was of a Namibian female cheetah, due to a kidney ailment on Mar 27. Later on, a male South African cheetah died due to cardiopulmonary failure on Apr, 23. The third death was of a South African female cheetah on May 9, following a “violent interaction” with male cheetahs. In addition, three of the four cubs born in the park, have also died.
India’s cheetah reintroduction programme is aimed at reviving the population of cheetahs in India, where they became extinct over 70 years ago.– NNN-PTI
