Female cheetah from Namibia dies due to kidney ailment in Kuno park

In a major setback to India's Cheetah re-introduction plan, a big cat Sasha died due to a kidney infection in Kuno National Park, Sheopur on Monday.

The five-year-old Sasha and was diagnosed with hepatorenal, a kidney and liver-related infection, last month. She initially showed signs of recovery, but continued to be kept in the quarantine enclosure after her condition deteriorated.

"Cheetah Sasha passed away due to a kidney problem as her creatinine level was very high," Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF-Wildlife) JS Chauhan told PTI.

The feline was not keeping well since her arrival more than 6 month ago and was recently taken back to a quarantine enclosure at the KNP for treatment, he said.

"A team of experts including local veterinarians, and Eli Walker of the CCF were tasked to treat Sasha. Adrian Tordiffe of the University of Pretoria, Laurie Marker of the CCF, Andy Fraser and other experts were also consulted during this period in order to save Sasha," the government said in a statement.

"Sadly, Sasha dies due to renal failure. Kidney disease and renal failure are a problem for all cats, but this can be especially bad for cheetahs, which are by nature delicate creatures," it said.

Sasha's creatinine level was above 400 (an indicator of poor kidney function) which resulted in her death, Chauhan added. She is among eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia in September last year and housed in KNP in Sheopur district.

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 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.

According to authorities, all the other cheetahs including those brought from Africa last month have been doing well.