Two Cubs Of Cheetah Jwala Die In Kuno National Park On The Same Day

Authorities in Kuno National Park (KNP) on Thursday confirmed that two more Cheetah cubs have died there on the same day, leaving just one alive.

One of the two cheetah cubs died during monitoring while being in weak condition amid sweltering heat at KNP on Thursday morning and the second, also found unwell, succumbed later.

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Six cheetahs lost since March

The two cubs died just two days after one of their siblings, born in March, had died in KNP on May 23. Cheetah Jwala, which was brought to KNP from Namibia, had four cubs, and only one is currently alive.

Ever since Cheetahs were reintroduced in India as part of Project Cheetah, six of them have died since March.

The first to die was a female called Sasha in March, which the authorities have blamed on a pre-existing kidney ailment.

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This was followed by death of Uday, a male Cheetah from Namibia.

Earlier in May, 'Daksha', a female Cheetah that was translocated from South Africa, had died in KNP in an attack by two aggressive males.

One of the first-born Cheetah cubs in India had died earlier this week in what appeared to be a case of dehydration.

Future of Project Cheetah

The high mortality rate of the endangered Cheetahs in their new habitat has raised serious questions about the project's future.

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There have been growing calls from many corners to find a second home for Cheetahs in India other than Kuno.

More Cheetahs will die: Wildlife expert

However, South African wildlife expert Vincent van der Merwe told PTI that Cheetahs naturally have high mortality rates.

"There seems to be a frenzy in India, we've lost four cheetahs and the project is failing. That isn't true. Cheetahs naturally have high mortality rates. And we observed these same mortality rates in Africa when we reintroduced them into unfenced systems," he said.

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He added that the Cheetah reintroduction project is going to see even higher mortalities in the next few months when animals try to establish territories and come face to face with leopards and tigers in Kuno National Park.

Second home for Cheetahs

"India should fence two to three habitats for cheetahs as there has never been a successful reintroduction into an unfenced reserve in recorded history," he said.

On Wednesday, Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests JS Chouhan said that the decision to relocate cheetahs is beyond their jurisdiction and can only be taken by the central government.

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