Madhya Pradesh: Another Cheetah dies at Kuno National Park, 8th death in 4 months

synopsis

A male cheetah named Suraj passed away on Friday (July 14) morning at Madhya Pradesh's national park, marking the eighth big cat fatality in nearly four months. Suraj, an African cheetah, was discovered lifeless at Kuno National Park during the early hours of the morning. Authorities are currently investigating to determine the precise cause of his demise.

Earlier this week, another male cheetah named Tejas was also found dead at the same national park. The post-mortem examination revealed that Tejas was unable to recover from severe trauma sustained during a violent clash with a female cheetah.

In the past few months, the unfortunate demise of several cheetahs has dealt significant setbacks to the Centre's cheetah reintroduction program, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last year.

On March 27, Sasha, a female cheetah, succumbed to a kidney ailment. This was followed by Uday's death on April 23, attributed to cardio-pulmonary failure. On May 9, Daksha, a female cheetah, tragically passed away after a violent encounter with a male during a mating attempt. Additionally, two cheetah cubs lost their lives on May 25 due to extreme weather conditions and dehydration.

The recent demise of Suraj, the male cheetah, adds to the challenges faced by the reintroduction program. The Centre has faced scrutiny regarding the cheetah deaths, but officials have denied any lapses, stating that a high infant mortality rate of 90% is observed among cheetahs according to global wildlife literature.

In May, South African wildlife expert Vincent van der Merwe had predicted more cheetah deaths and said that the reintroduction project is going to see an even higher mortality, when the cheetahs would try to establish territories and come face to face with leopards and tigers at the park.