MP CM Chouhan, union forest minister hold Cheetah review meeting

The meeting was being organised after the death of six cheetahs, including three cheetah cubs at Kuno National Park in the past few months. CM Chouhan, Union Minister Yadav, Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Vijay Shah and senior officials of Forest Department were present in the meeting.

"Union minister Yadav has said that we should not be worried. When cheetahs arrive from other regions, it takes time for them to adjust to the new environment. I was very worried about the untimely death of three cheetah cubs. The government is making all out efforts for proper care of cheetahs," CM Chouhan said at a program in the state capital after the meeting.

It is true that the survival rate of cheetah cubs is low across the world, but there will be no lack in our efforts, the chief minister added.

Notably, in the past few months, six cheetahs, including 3 cubs, died.

The cubs were among the four born on March 24 this year, inside Kuno National Park to Cheetah Jwala, who was among the set of eight cheetahs relocated to India from Namibia last year. Jwala had given birth to four cubs on March 24 this year.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) J S Chouhan had said that one cub died due to weakness in the morning on May 23, later two more cubs died due to extreme weather conditions on the same day.

"The incident occurred on May 23 only, the day one cub died in the morning, on the same day the two other cubs also died. After the death of one cub, our monitoring team and the veterinary team kept the mother cheetah and its remaining cubs under observation. But by the afternoon, two more cubs looked weak and their movements were restricted, after which the team tried to treat them but they died during treatment," Chouhan said.

A Namibian cheetah, Sasha, had died from kidney disease on March 27, a South African cheetah, Uday, died due to cardiopulmonary failure on April 23 and another second South African cheetah, Daksha, died due to violent interaction with male cheetahs during mating efforts on May 9.

Union Environment Ministry had flown in eight cheetahs from Namibia into Kuno in September last year and 12 more from South Africa in February this year as part of the project that seeks to establish clusters of wild cheetahs in India. (ANI)