SHEOPUR: Just two days after Madhya Pradesh chief minister Dr Mohan Yadav announced the birth of cubs to Nirva, a South African cheetah, at Kuno National Park (KNP), the mutilated carcasses of two newborn cubs were discovered at the park in Sheopur district.
According to a statement from KNP authorities, Nirva, the mother cheetah, was found away from her den through radio telemetry signals.
A team of forest staffers monitoring the movement of cheetahs received signals through radio telemetry about Neerva was away from her den, following which they along with veterinarians rushed to the spot for inspection and found mutilated carcasses of the two cubs inside.
“Samples from the carcasses have been sent for forensic examination to determine the cause of death,” the official statement read.
This grim incident comes shortly after CM Yadav had shared the news of the births on the social media platform X. At the time, he noted that the number of cubs was yet to be confirmed by park staff.
With this development, seven of the 19 cubs born to African cheetahs at KNP since March 2023 have died. Wildlife experts attribute the low survival rate to the cheetah's inherently high infant mortality, which is among the lowest in the feline family.
KNP, which became the first Indian sanctuary to reintroduce African cheetahs, currently houses 12 adult cheetahs and 12 cubs. The eldest cub, a 20-month-old female named Mukhi, continues to thrive.
The cheetah reintroduction project, a historic effort to bring back the species that went extinct in the Indian wild over seven decades ago due to rampant poaching, began on September 17, 2022. Eight adult and semi-adult cheetahs from Namibia were the first to arrive. They were followed in February 2023 by 12 more cheetahs flown in from South Africa.
Out of the 20 African cheetahs introduced so far, eight adults have succumbed to various causes, underscoring the challenges of acclimatizing the species to a new environment.