A cheetah, 6, which was bought from South Africa with 11 others died in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.
The cause of the cheetah's death, who was identified as Uday, will be known only after an autopsy, according to forest officials. Uday is the second cheetah to die at this park in a month. In March, another cheetah named Sasha, which was brought to India from Namibia, died due to renal failure.
"The wildlife medical team inspected the cheetah and he appeared sick. The doctors and cheetah expert from Cheetah Conservation Fund decided to shift to a quarantine Boma (enclosure) immediately," JS Chauhan, the MP forest chief wildlife warden, told the Hindustan Times.
"During routine check at around 9am, Uday was found sitting in a lethargic state. When forest experts approached him, he got up and staggered a bit," an official said.
Two hours later, however, the cheetah lost consciousness and was shifted to an isolation ward for more treatment.
"Uday died during treatment around 4pm. The cause of death would be clear only after autopsy," Chauhan said.
As per South African cheetah expert Vincent Van Der Merwe, Uday was suffering from chronic stress.
"Like the 11 others, he was a wild cheetah. He was very healthy before shifting to Boma in July 2022 for the translocation project. After 10 months in captivity, he lost fitness and suffering from chronic stress," he said.
"The cheetahs must go back into the wild where they belong. They are unhappy in cages," he said.
On September 17 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs from Namibia in the first part of a translocation project.
Also read: Four cubs born to cheetah brought from Namibia to Kuno National Park
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