NEW DELHI: Amid deaths of eight cheetahs, including three cubs born on Indian soil, in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in the past four months, the environment ministry on Sunday said Project Cheetah is yet to complete a year and it will be premature to conclude the outcome in terms of success and failure since cheetah introduction is a long-term project.Read Also'All mortalities due to natural causes': MoEFCC clarifies on Cheetah deaths in KunoMinistry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has responded to a spate of cheetah deaths in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, saying that five of the 20 adult cheetahs translocated to the park died naturally.
The ministry added that there were no signs of foul play.Kuno: Cheetah death mystery deepens, autopsy shows diseased organsThe mysterious death of a cheetah named Tejas - the seventh cheetah death in less than four months - raises some uncomfortable questions about what's the translocated animals' condition behind the walls and in the enclosures of Kuno National Park.In 4 months, 8th cheetah found dead in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National ParkIndia’s ambitious initiative to reintroduce cheetahs into the wild faced yet another setback as cheetah Suraj was found dead in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.
The sub-adult male had injuries similar to those sustained by cheetah Tejas, which died in mysterious circumstances just three daysAnother Kuno cheetah dies, in ‘territorial fight’NEW DELHI: Another South African cheetah, named Tejas, died inside Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.
It may have been injured in a territorial fight, say sources.
Four of the 20 cheetahs translocated from Namibia and South Africa, and three of four cubs born atIt said it is optimistic that the project will succeed in the long run and there is no reason to speculate at this juncture.The ministry said as per the preliminary analysis, done by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), all five adult mortalities were “due to natural causes”.“There are reports in the media attributing these cheetah deaths to other reasons, including their radio collars etc.
Such reports are not based on any scientific evidence but are speculation and hearsay,” said the ministry in a statement.
The NTCA is the apex body entrusted with the implementation of Project Cheetah.Referring to global experience with cheetah translocation to new habitats, the ministry said that cheetah has been brought back to India after seven decades and a project of such a stature is bound to undergo ups and downs.“Global experience, particularly from South Africa, suggests that the initial phase of reintroduction of cheetah in African countries has resulted in more than 50% mortality of introduced cheetahs.
The mortality of cheetah may happen due to intra-species fights, diseases, accidents before release and post release.
Mortalities might also result from injury caused during hunting of prey, poaching, road hits, poisoning and predatory attack by other predators etc.,” said the ministry.Under Project Cheetah, a total of 20 radio collared cheetahs were imported from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park, in a first ever transcontinental wild-to-wild translocation.
After the mandatory quarantine period, all cheetahs were shifted to larger acclimatisation enclosures.
Currently, 11 cheetahs are under free ranging condition and five animals, including a cub born on Indian soil, are within quarantine enclosure.“The Cheetah Project Steering Committee is closely monitoring the project and has expressed satisfaction over its implementation so far...Each of the free ranging cheetahs is being monitored round the clock by a dedicated monitoring team,” said the ministry.Watch‘Cheetahs won’t be relocated from Kuno’: Union minister Bhupender Yadav after 8th death
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