Kuno’s new cheetah, Sasha, who fell ill due to hepatorenal infection, doing much better, says officials

Bhopal, Jan 27: The health condition of a female cheetah detected with an infection associated with kidneys and liver at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh was much better now, a senior forest department official said on Friday.

The cheetah, Sasha, is more than four-and-a-half years old and was diagnosed with hepatorenal, a kidney and liver-related infection, earlier this week. She is among eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia in September last year and housed in KNP in Sheopur district. "She is much better," MP Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) JS Chauhan told PTI over the phone when asked about the feline's health.

Sasha has some liver and kidney problems and is being treated by three veterinarians who are in constant touch with cheetah experts from Namibia and South Africa, he said. "Her problem came to light on Monday. Dr Atul Gupta, a veterinarian at Bhopal-based Van Vihar National Park, was rushed to the Kuno National Park after the problem was detected. She is suffering from hepatorenal infection and has been quarantined for treatment," Chauhan added.

A wildlife expert associated with the cheetah reintroduction programme, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sasha was brought to India from a captive facility named 'Cheetah Conservation Fund', located 44 kilometres from the Namibian city of Otjiwarongo. He said captive cheetahs often face renal (kidneys) problems, which are rare in big cats living in the wild.

As per her dossier, Sasha was born on April 1, 2018, and underwent a health screening in August last year and vaccinated before being flown to India a month later. The wild cat weighed 32 kilograms at that time.

The eight Namibian cheetahs - five female and three male - were released into their enclosures at KNP on September 17 last year at a high-profile event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The last cheetah died in India in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the fastest land animal was declared extinct in the country in 1952.