India loses another cheetah in Kuno National Park, eighth in five months

India lost another cheetah that was imported from South Africa to increase its population, making it the eight feline casualty within five months.

The male cheetah named Suraj was found dead by the patrolling team early Friday morning in Kuno National Park in India’s central Madhya Pradesh state.

The authorities are trying to determine how the big cat died.

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The casualty comes just two days after the death of another cheetah named Tejas in the same national park. It was later found following the postmortem that the big cat, which was only five-and-a-half years old, had a "traumatic shock" after a violent fight with a female cheetah.

Furthermore, the authorities found that Suraj’s internal organs were in a compromised state, reported the Times of India newspaper.

Eighth death in five months

Before this, a female cheetah named Sasha died of kidney ailment on March 27, and a month later on April 23, Uday died of cardio-pulmonary failure.

On May 9, Daksha, a female cheetah, died after a violent interaction with a male during a mating attempt.

On May 25, two cheetah cubs died of "extreme weather conditions and dehydration".

The repeated deaths have thrown a spanner in the works of the central government’s ambitious plan to re-introduce the cheetah population in the country after its native species — the Asiatic cheetah — was declared extinct in 1952.

India's cheetah project in danger?

Subsequently, India imported 8 cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa.

However, India’s effort to re-populate the cheetah population was viewed with scepticism as biologists had expressed concern that these big cats won't have enough space to roam without being killed by predators or people.

In May, South African wildlife expert Vincent van der Merwe had predicted more cheetah deaths and said that the reintroduction project is going to see an even higher mortality when the cheetahs would try to establish territories and come face to face with leopards and tigers in the park.

At one point, the Asiatic cheetah ranged widely across North Africa, the Middle East, and throughout India. During the Mughal Empire era, tamed cheetahs served as royal hunting companions, coursing after prey on behalf of their masters.

But hunters later turned their weapons on the cheetah itself. Today, just 12 remain in the arid regions of Iran.

(With inputs from agencies)

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