Second cheetah dies at MP's Kuno, cause yet to be identified

The second cheetah died at Madhya Pradesh`s Kuno National Park (KNP) on Sunday, officials said.

The latest cheetah fatality was identified as six-year-old male `Uday`, released at KNP enclosures on February 18.

Uday was among those 12 cheetahs translocated from South Africa in the second phase of `Project Cheetah`. Its death came two days after all cheetahs were given Indian names.

According to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department officials, the cheetah was found dull during the inspection in the morning on Sunday, following which the veterinarians attending to it alerted senior officials and it was taken out from the large enclosure for treatment.

"Veterinarians tried their best to save the feline but unfortunately, around 4 p.m., the cheetah passed away," Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, J.S. Chauhan told IANS. However, officials were yet to clarify what exactly caused the death of African cheetah.

Udav was the second cheetah at KNP within a month. On March 27, the female Namibian cheetah Sasha died due to a kidney ailment, raising various questions.

A total of 20 cheetahs were translocated from Namibia and South Africa, of which two of them have died so far. In the first batch, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia on September 17, and they were relased at KNP enclosures by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72nd birthday.

Another 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa on February 18 this year and they were relased at KNP by Union Forest Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.