Bhopal: Another cheetah has died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, giving a major setback to ‘Project Cheetah’ initiative of the government. The animal, brought in from South Africa, was found dead inside a drain in the national park, said officials. This is the second cheetah death reported in August. Earlier a cub died on August 5.
Dozen deaths since translocation: Officials
The cheetah which died, has been identified as Oban aka Pawan. He was nicknamed ‘Ghumakkad’ by his caregivers, due to his nature of wandering around the Kuno National Park. An official release said that the cheetah ‘Pawan’ was found dead near a nullah, at around 10:30 am on Tuesday.
Pawan had fathered 2 of the three litters born in Kuno and was the only one of the batch of African cheetahs to live in the open. The other 24 animals, 12 of which are cubs, continue to remain in enclosures and so far there is no talk of when they can be released in the wild.
Since the translocation of the African cheetahs, at least a dozen of them have died. They include cubs too. The first batch was translocated in September 2022. The death of Pawan is a major setback, as he was one of the stars of the National Park, due to his ability to hunt, travel and hold territory.
Explaining the death of the cheetah, the forest officials at Kuno National Park were quoted by the Times of India as saying, “The nullah was full due to recent rain, and the front half of the cheetah’s body, including its head, was submerged in water.” They said that no external injuries were found on the animal and the preliminary cause of death may be drowning. But this is just a speculation as of now.
The body of the animal has been sent for autopsy and anything concrete can only be said after the reports are in, said the official. On August 5, a cheetah cub, fell off a tree and died of spinal injuries. Pawan, was an adventurous animal, which travelled some 100 kilometers from the protected confines of the Kuno National Park. In December 2023, he was brought back/reintroduced into Nayagaon forest area within Kuno.
