New Delhi: Indian-born female cheetah, KGP11, died Saturday while undergoing treatment at a veterinary facility at Palpur in the Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. With this, five cheetahs have died in India this year.
The 27-month-old was found injured on 1 June in Morena district at the periphery of the national park, and was undergoing intensive care when she succumbed to her injuries, read a press note by the field director of the Cheetah Project.
KGP11’s death comes hardly a month after four cheetah cubs, barely a month old, were found dead and partially eaten near the forests of Kuno on 12 May.
“Despite constant monitoring and treatment, KGP11 remained in a critical condition. Despite all efforts, veterinary experts were unable to save her, and she ultimately died during treatment on Saturday,” stated a press note by R Thirukkural, Deputy Director of Kuno National Park.
For now, the exact cause of her death remains unknown, but experts suspect that she was injured in a fight with another animal. The authorities will know more after the post-mortem examination is conducted on 7 June.
Also read: Gir lion death count rises to 7. Officials conduct security checks, isolate 17 animals
Project Cheetah
After her death, Kuno National Park now has 49 cheetahs, including 32 Indian-born cheetahs. Of these, 19 are free-ranging in the wild, and the remaining are healthy too, said the press release. The total cheetah population in India now stands at 52, including 49 cheetahs in Kuno National Park, and three in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. However, the death toll has risen to 23 cheetahs since 2022.
Wildlife experts have repeatedly said that while the core areas of the Kuno National Park are relatively safer for cheetahs due to the lack of leopards, the adjacent forests could still pose risks.
KGP11 was the cub of Gamini, of the female cheetahs brought to India from Tsuwali Kalahari Reserve in South Africa as part of the Indian Government’s Cheetah Project. Gamini had made headlines on February 28 for giving birth to her fourth cub at Kuno National Park.
As part of the Project Cheetah, the first eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia to Kuno in 2022. In 2023, 12 more arrived from South Africa, and another nine were brought from Botswana in February this year.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)