2-month-old cheetah cub dies at Kuno National Park

A cheetah’s cub died at Kuno National Park, the officials said on Tuesday. According to the Kuno forest officer, the number of young cubs in the park decreased from four to three. “The Forest department team is engaged in ascertaining the cause of death,” he added. A female cheetah named Jwala brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, has given birth to four cubs in March this year. Notably, in the past few months, three cheetahs have already died at the National Park, raising fingers at the Kuno management and administration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park on the occasion of his birthday on September 17, last year. The cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952 but 8 cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) were brought from Africa’s Namibia as part of ‘Project Cheetah’ and the government’s efforts to revitalise and diversify the country’s wildlife and habitat. Later on, 12 more Cheetahs were brought from South Africa and rehabilitated to Kuno National Park on February 18. Under the ambitious Project Cheetah of the Indian government, the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs was undertaken according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines. India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures ‘Project Tiger’, which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem.