Representative photograph courtesy Pixabay
New Delhi: A female cheetah ‘Daksha’ which was translocated from South Africa in Kuno National Park under Project Cheetah, was found fatally injured by the monitoring team today at 10:45 am. Treatment was done by the veterinarians but she died at 12.00 noon.
With her death, already 3 cheetahs translocated from Africa have died since January this year at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Prima facie, the wounds found on the female cheetah ‘Daksha’ seemed to have been caused by a violent interaction with the male, during the courtship or mating attempt.
“Such violent behaviours by male coalition cheetahs towards female cheetahs during mating are common. In such a situation, the chances of intervention by the monitoring team are almost non-existent and practically impossible,” an official release claimed.
“The autopsy of the dead female cheetah (Daksha) is being carried out by the veterinary team as per the protocol, the release stated.
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It may be mentioned that following the death of the second cheetah in Kuno National Park on April 23, 2023, a team of experts from South Africa along with senior Indian government officials, Qamar Qureshi, Lead Scientist, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Amit Mallick, Inspector General of Forests, National Tiger Conservation Authority, New Delhi, visited the Kuno National Park on April 30, 2023, and reviewed the current status of the Project Cheetah, on the directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The team of experts reported that all the cheetahs at the Park were in good physical condition, making kills at regular intervals and displaying natural behaviours. In all twenty cheetahs were translocated to Kuno National Park (KNP) in September 2022 and February 2023 from southern Africa.
– global bihari bureau
