Bhopal: An eight-year-old cheetah, Nabha, brought in from Namibia, succumbed to her injuries in the Kuno National Park in the Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh Saturday, a week after she sustained injuries in—what forest officials believe was—a hunting attempt.
She is the ninth cheetah brought to India under Project Cheetah to have died so far. Project Cheetah, a translocation project, was rolled out in September 2022, with eight cheetahs from Namibia flown into Kuno National Park, followed by 12 cheetahs brought in from South Africa, taking the total number of cheetahs in the sanctuary to 20.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a visit to Namibia this week, emphasised the conservation efforts adopted for Namibian cheetahs, following their intercontinental translocation to the Kuno National Park.
Modi, in his address to the Namibian parliament, said, “India and Namibia have a powerful story of cooperation, conservation, and compassion [exemplified] when you helped us in the re-introduction of cheetahs in our country. They are very happy and have adapted well to their new homes. They have grown in numbers as well. It is clear they are enjoying their time in India.”
In a press note issued Saturday, Uttam Sharma, the field director in the Madhya Pradesh forest department, stated, “Nabha got badly injured a week ago, probably, during a hunting attempt inside her soft release boma [forest area where she was being released in stages]. She had fractures in both her ulna and fibula on the left side, along with other injuries.”
Nabha had been under treatment for the last week, but succumbed to her injuries Saturday. Her passing away in Kuno takes the cheetah deaths in the national park to 10, including nine foreign and one Indian-born cheetah.
She is also the first adult cheetah to die in Kuno post-August 2023. Her death leaves Kuno with 26 cheetahs, including nine adults and 17 Indian-born cubs. Of these 26 cheetahs, two have been transferred to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanpuriya, MP.
Of those, 11 cheetahs, including eight adults and three cubs, have died so far. On 27 March 2023, cheetah Sasha, a female cheetah, was the first to die of kidney ailments. The very next month, in April, a male cheetah, Uday, brought in from South Africa, died after suffering from cardiovascular issues. Again, a month later, on 9 May, a female cheetah, Daksha, also brought in from South Africa, died from extensive injuries sustained during a mating episode.
As forest officials were dealing with the three consecutive deaths, the major bolt came when four more cheetahs, Suraj, Shaurya, Tejas, and Dharti, died from what later turned out to be maggot infection from rashes sustained from radio collars around their necks. The four deaths took place between July 2023 and August 2023—the first monsoon of the cheetahs on Indian soil. Dharti was the last to die in August 2023.
Those four deaths prompted the forest officials to catch all the cheetahs roaming in the open forest, bringing them back into closed enclosures for necessary treatment. Soon after this, cheetah Pawan was found dead from drowning in a flooded drain on 27 August 2023.
Afterwards, Project Cheetah did not sustain any major setbacks, and the population of the cheetahs stabilised, eventually leading to a gradual release of cheetahs from their soft boma to the open forest.
Before the arrival of monsoons this year, the forest officials proactively applied ectoparasitic medication to all the cheetahs.
By Saturday evening, Nabha was cremated, following a postmortem. Speaking to The Print, Uttam Sharma, who has been overseeing Project Cheetah, said, “The postmortem was completed, and the necessary samples have been sent for further investigation.”
According to officials, Nabha suffered fractures to both her legs on the left side, and the fractures left her sitting on just one side, leading to further complications. Eventually, she succumbed to her injuries.
Of the 26 cheetahs that India presently has, 16 live outside the enclosure, whereas 10 others stay inside. Of the 10 inside the enclosure, five are cubs, one is partly adult, and the remaining four are adults.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: In their prime & ‘perfectly wild’, Kuno cheetahs Prabhash & Pavak reach their new home