Cheetah translocation project takes tragic turn

Second Cheetah death at Kuno: On Sunday, the six-year-old cheetah, Uday, passed away at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park. Uday was one of 11 cheetahs brought from South Africa, and the cause of death will be known after an autopsy. 

Forest officials noted that he had been found in a lethargic state when they went to check on him in the morning. 

“The wildlife medical team inspected the cheetah and he appeared sick. The doctors and cheetah expert from Cheetah Conservation Fund decided to shift to a quarantine Boma (enclosure) immediately,” the MP forest chief wildlife warden JS Chauhan said.

Senior doctors were informed, and he was moved to an enclosure for further treatment. However, he lost consciousness a few hours later and died while being treated. 

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“Uday died during treatment around 4pm. The cause of death would be clear only after autopsy,” MP chief wildlife warden JS Chauhan said.

Uday is the second cheetah to die at the Kuno National Park in a month, the first being Sasha from Namibia who passed away from renal failure. Uday had been brought to India from Waterberg Biosphere of South Africa on February 18, and his name was given by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. 

South African cheetah expert Vincent Van Der Merwe said that Uday had been very healthy before his capture, but had lost his fitness and suffered from chronic stress due to his long stay in captivity. Merwe commented that the cheetahs should be returned to the wild where they belong and are unhappy in cages. 

“Like the 11 others, he was a wild cheetah. He was very healthy before shifting to Boma in July 2022 for the translocation project. After 10 months in captivity, he lost fitness and suffering from chronic stress,” Merwe said, adding that the animals must be released in the wild. “The cheetahs must go back into the wild where they belong. They are unhappy in cages,” he said.

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18 of the originally translocated cheetahs remain at the park, along with four cubs born to Siyaya. Prime Minister Modi had released the first 8 from Namibia in September 2020 in the first leg of the translocation project, which was started due to the species being declared extinct in 1952 as a result of poaching and the shrinking of grasslands.