Two more cheetah cubs die at Kuno
Another cub is in a bad state and under the care of a team of specialists
Two more cubs born to Namibian female cheetah Siyaya akka Jwala at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) have died, taking the toll of newly-born cubs to three, the state Forest Department said in a statement yesterday.
In the statement, the Forest Department said after the death of one of the cubs on May 23, the remaining three cubs were kept under close monitoring of veterinarians at Palpur.
“After afternoon hours (on May 23), the health condition of remaining three cubs was not good. Veterinarians tried their best, however, two of them could not be saved and they died. The heath condition of the fourth cub has also deteriorated and it is being treated by a team of veterinarians at Palpur,” it said.
The Forest Department further said that all cubs were found weak, had low weight, and suffered from high dehydration. “All four newly-born cubs had started walking with their mother, but three of them died,” it added.
The latest fatality took the death toll of cheetahs in KNP to six in the last two months, including three felines translocated from African countries.
Cheetah Jwala, earlier known as Siyaya, was brought from Namibia to KNP in Sheopur district in September 2022. She gave birth to four cubs in the last week of March this year. The cubs were born within a week after the first Namibian cheetah died in March. Since then, this is the fourth cheetah to die at KNP.
A total 20 cheetahs were translocated to KNP in two phases – eight from Namibia last year and 12 from South Africa this year.