NDN Staffer
Bhopal/Sheopur, Apr 24 — The death of a second cheetah in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park has raised concerns about the ambitious ‘Project Cheetah’, aimed at reintroducing the big cats in India. Uday, a six-year-old cheetah that was brought from South Africa as part of the project, died after falling ill on Sunday. The loss of Uday, two months after he arrived in India, follows the death of Sasha, one of the eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia last year. The loss of two cheetahs is seen as a major setback for the project, which aims to establish a new cheetah population in India by importing 12-14 big cats from South Africa and other African countries.
Currently, only 18 cheetahs remain of the 20 that were brought to India in the world’s first intercontinental translocation project. The cause of Uday’s death will be determined after the post-mortem, and the recent incidents have highlighted the need for better monitoring and care of the animals during the translocation process. South Africa has also signed an agreement with India to introduce dozens of African cheetahs to the Asian country over the next decade, and it’s imperative to ensure that the health and welfare of the animals are adequately taken care of during the translocation process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park on his birthday last year. The second batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa arrived in India on February 17, 2023. The project aims to have a founder stock of cheetahs for five years initially and then import more as required by the programme.
– Namibia Daily News
