- By Kamal Kumar
- Tue, 16 Jan 2024 05:40 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Adding another casualty in the concerning trend, one more Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away on Tuesday in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park. With the latest death, the tally of Cheetahs who died in India rose to 10. According to a press release by the Director of the Lion Project, Shaurya was found in poor health, after which it was tranquilised.
"Today, on 16th January 2024 around 3:17 PM, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 AM, incoordination and staggering gait were observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilized and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post-revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after post-mortem," APCCF & Director Lion Project said in the statement.
Since their reintroduction, 10 Cheetahs have died so far. Frequent deaths of Cheetahs have created concern for the Project Cheetah.
Nine deaths before Shaurya
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Project Cheetah in the country on his birthday on September 17, in 2022. Since then ten big cats have died so far. Earlier, the Namibian female cheetah 'Dhatri' was found dead in August 2023, marking the ninth Cheetah death in the country. The officials have attributed her death to the myiasis or maggot infection. The same infection was diagnosed in at least two more Cheetahs who had died earlier in the Kuno National Park.
In July last year, a male Cheetah Surya was discovered dead with a neck wound infected with maggots. The possible cause of the wound, according to The Hindu, was attributed to chafing from the polystyrene Radio collar used to track Cheetah movements.
However, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, responsible for Project Cheetah's implementation, tried to refute the claim only to get more bashing from African experts who confirmed the same neck infection on three more Cheetahs- Pavan, and the brothers Gaurav and Shaurya.
