South African Cheetah translocated to Kuno park dies of sickness

A male Cheetah named Uday, who was brought from South Africa has died in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park after falling ill on Sunday. This is the second death among the group of 20 cheetahs, which India brought recently from Namibia and South Africa.

Chief Conservator of Forest JS Chauhan confirmed the death and said that the six-year-old male cheetah, named Uday, died during treatment.

"Male Cheetah, Uday, translocated from South Africa, has died during treatment after falling sick at Kuno National Park. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained," he said.

"At the daily check-up, Uday was found dull with head down following which veterinarians attending him alerted senior officials and the big cat was taken out from the large enclosure for treatment. He was under constant observation. But unfortunately, around 4 pm, the cheetah passed away," he was quoted saying by news agency PTI.

Under the ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme, eight Cheetahs - five of which are female were brought from Namibia, while 12 more were translocated from South Africa.

One of the Namibian cheetahs, Sasha, died due to a kidney ailment on March 27. A female cheetah Siyaya gave birth to four cubs at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him "Shikari Shambu" for not speaking on the matter.

"First Sasha dies in Kuno. Now Uday passes away. Sad. A word of anguish from Shikari Shambu would not have been out of place," Ramesh tweeted.

The last known Asiatic cheetah was killed by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo in the Sal forests of Koriya District, Chhattisgarh State in 1947.

The big cat was declared extinct in 1952. The reason for the decline of cheetah in India were poaching, large-scale capture of animals from the wild for coursing, bounty and sport hunting.

As per the Action Plan for Cheetah Introduction in India, the government plans to import 10-12 cheetahs annually for next five years. In this context, the government initiated bilateral negotiations with South Africa and Namibia.