Another African cheetah dies at Kuno National Park, taking total deaths to 7

Another African cheetah brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has passed away. Tejas, a male cheetah from South Africa, died on July 11, marking the seventh cheetah death at Kuno. The cheetah was discovered with injuries to its neck, which likely contributed to its demise.

Tejas was found with the injury marks around 11 am inside Kuno National Park on July 11. The monitoring team promptly made arrangements to provide medical treatment for the big cat. However, despite their efforts, by 2 pm, Tejas had succumbed to its injuries in the same location.

How many cheetahs are left?

• Seven cheetahs have died so far in Kuno, including three cheetah cubs. Currently, 11 cheetahs are left at Kuno National Park. 
• Cheetah Tejas' death came just hours after two more male cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, were released into the wild at Kuno. 
• The Indian government introduced eight Namibian cheetahs into Kuno National Park on September 17, 2022 as part of the reintroduction project.  
• Twelve more cheetahs were brought from South Africa to Kuno in February this year. 

The reasons for the cheetah deaths have been varying. The cubs reportedly died due to dehydration, one of the first cheetahs died of renal failure, another died of cardio-pulmonary failure, and a female cheetah died of mating injuries. 

Two more cheetahs are reportedly injured and under care after a territorial fight. 

While the high mortality rate of the translocated cheetahs has alarmed critics, the Centre denied that there were any lapses behind the deaths of the cheetahs. However, critics had earlier raised concerns over whether Kuno National Park is fit for the cheetahs, which usually need large spaces to thrive. Moreover, cheetahs face a threat and competition from existing predators such as leopards in the area. 

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