Seven out of 11 Cheetahs that were in the wild in Kuno National Park have been brought back to enclosures (bomas) over the past few days for health check-up and constant monitoring.
Satellite collars of six of these Cheetahs have been removed as per advice of local veterinary team as well as experts from South Africa and Namibia involved in intense health monitoring of the Cheetahs. Four Cheetahs were already in the enclosure (never released in the wild) and thus the total number of animals in the enclosures has now gone up to 11.
All the 11 Cheetahs and the surviving cub of Cheetah Jwala, which is kept separately, are healthy, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF-wildlife) Aseem Shrivastava told THE WEEK. He added that efforts to bring back the four other Cheetahs that are still in the wild are ongoing as all Cheetahs are to be subjected to health check up.
Kuno management started bringing back the Cheetahs in the wild for health check up immediately after two Cheetahs – Tejas and Suraj – died of neck wound related bacterial infections on July 11 and 14 respectively. These deaths had taken the toll of Cheetahs in Kuno to eight in 3.5 months. Now, 15 adult Cheetahs and a cub are surviving.
In all 20 Cheetahs – eight from Namibia and 12 from South Africa had been brought to Kuno on September 17, 2022 and February 18, 2023 respectively under the ambitious inter-continental Cheetah translocation project. On March 23, Cheetah Jwala had given birth to four cubs, but soon after the series of deaths started in Kuno – with five adults and three cubs succumbing between March 27 and July 14.
According to South African and Namibian experts, the neck wounds in Cheetahs reportedly occurred due to the radio collars put on the Cheetahs and constant moisture on the neck area of the animals due to heavy rainfall in the first week of July in Kuno.
Though the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) – the implementing agency of project Cheetah, called the reports of role of radio collar in deaths of two Cheetahs as ‘speculative’ and all the eight deaths of Cheetahs as natural, on the ground the work of bringing back the Cheetahs from wild and subjecting them to thorough health check up commenced from July 14.
By July 17, there were reports of neck wounds on three more Cheetahs (Pawan, Gaurav and Shaurya) that had been brought back to enclosures. Their radio collars were removed and treatment started. By July 20, they were declared healthy by the Madhya Pradesh forest department. On July 21, female Cheetahs Asha and Dheera were brought back and subjected to health check up and found healthy. The PCCF (wildlife) was quoted by the forest department Twitter handle to say that these big cats would continue to be in the bomas till further tests. On July 22, female Cheetah Gamini and male Cheetah Pawak were brought back and found healthy after check up. On July 23, the forest department confirmed that satellite collars of six of them had been removed.
The deaths of five adult Cheetahs and three cubs within the duration of 3.5 months led to huge concern among the experts associated with the Cheetah project. Especially, the deaths of two Cheetahs, apparently due to satellite collar related wounds and consequent bacterial infection, was a problem that was encountered for the first time by the experts and was seen as ‘unusual and unexpected’. Chairman of the Cheetah Project Steering Committee Rajesh Gopal had told THE WEEK earlier that in-depth studies were required to find out the exact cause of infection in the animals.
The deaths had cast a shadow on the ambitious project, though authorities maintain that mortalities are expected in the inter-continental translocation project. But the fact that the Cheetahs released in the wild had to be brought back to enclosures due to health concerns is being looked upon as a step backwards.
The recent developments also push back the possibility of tourists being allowed to have a look at the Cheetahs, which in turn dents the possibility of commercial activities related to tourism in the area. Already many commercial projects, especially those of hotels and resorts, are said to have been put on the hold.
