New Delhi: A major setback has hit India’s ambitious cheetah conservation programme after four cubs of female cheetah KGP12 were found dead at Kuno National
Park in Madhya Pradesh. The cubs belonged to female cheetah KGP12 and were discovered by the park’s monitoring team early Monday morning.
The forest officials said that the cubs were discovered near the den site by a monitoring team at around 6:30 am on Monday. Some parts of the carcasses appeared to have been eaten, which raises concerns that the cubs may have been attacked by another wild animal.
The cubs were reportedly seen alive on the evening of 11 May. The exact reason behind the death has not been confirmed yet, and forest officials said that further clarity will emerge only after post-mortem examinations and a detailed investigation is done.
Forest department begins investigation
According to the Forest Department, female cheetah KGP12 is safe and healthy. They are now closely examining the area around the den site to understand what may have happened during the night.
The deaths come as a setback for wildlife authorities working on the cheetah reintroduction project which has been closely monitored since African cheetahs were brought to India as part of an effort to revive the species in the country.
Cheetah population stands at 53
Following the death, Kuno National Park houses 50 cheetahs, including 33 cubs born in India. Another three cheetahs are currently being kept at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
With this, the total number of cheetahs in the country remains at 53. Wildlife officials have been regularly monitoring the animals as part of ongoing conservation efforts in Madhya Pradesh. An official said, “All the surviving cheetahs are healthy and doing well.”
The latest incident has once again highlighted the challenges involved in managing and protecting the growing cheetah population in the wild. India’s reintroduction programme began on September 17, 2022, when eight cheetahs were brought to Kuno from Namibia. The following year, 12 more cheetahs arrived from South Africa while another group of nine cheetahs, six females and three males, were brought from Botswana in February this year.
