In the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, a female cheetah named Daksha, transported from South Africa, was killed during a struggle with other cheetahs. Sources claim that Daksha was killed after a “violent interaction” with the Phinda adult male coalition, also known as the White Walkers, including Vayu and Agni. Since the cats were brought from South Africa and Namibia, Kuno has lost three cheetahs.
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Since last year, twenty cheetahs have been introduced to the national park, and two perished in March and April. A captive-bred cheetah named Sasha passed away in March from a kidney disease she had been dealing with since she was brought to India. She began exhibiting signs of weakness and exhaustion on January 23, when authorities tranquillized her and sent her to a quarantine area where she would receive care.
Image Source: Times of India
The second Cheetah, Uday, was discovered sick in the national park in April and passed away while receiving treatment. Five cheetahs—three females and two males—will be released from acclimatization camps into the Kuno National Park (KNP) before the start of the monsoon in June, according to a statement from the Union Environment Ministry earlier today.
According to the government, the cheetahs will be let to leave KNP and will not necessarily be “recaptured unless they venture into areas where they are in significant danger.” Four of the eight cheetahs imported from Namibia have already been let loose from their caged acclimatization camps into the wild KNP landscape.
In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia into a special enclosure at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Image Source: Kuno National Park
As part of the cheetah reintroduction operation, a special jet was used to transport the cheetahs from Namibia to Gwalior. Later, two helicopters from the Indian Air Force transported the animals to the national park. In February, India received 12 additional cheetahs from South Africa. Before being transported to Kuno National Park, the second group of cheetahs arrived at the Air Force station in Gwalior.
