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Suraj, a cheetah from South Africa, reportedly passed away on Friday at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. With this, the number of cheetah deaths since March of this year has increased to eight. For the central government's cheetah reintroduction effort, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled in September of last year, this is seen as a major setback.
The body of Suraj was discovered by KNP officials this morning. Suraj's death's major cause is still a mystery. After the autopsy is completed, more information will become available. Cheetah deaths that occurred back-to-back have shocked the project's administrators.
Tejas, another male cheetah, went away in the KNP on Tuesday. According to online accounts, the cheetah had an internal weakness as shown by the autopsy results. Tejas got involved in an aggressive fight with a female cheetah and was unable to recuperate from the shocking injuries. This has led to a number of concerns about how these cheetahs are handled.
"While cheetah deaths in this reintroduction operation were foreseen, it is more surprising that they occurred in the enclosed bomas, where they were least anticipated. According to an expert, cheetahs were predicted to pass away after being released from the protected enclosure rather than while still inside of it.
At the KNP, 20 translocated from Namibia and South Africa. Four cubs were born at the national park, bringing the total up to 24. At the KNP, the total number of the quickest animal has sadly decreased to 16.
