Kuno National Park: A 2-month cheetah cub died in the Kuno National Park on May 23, 2023. This death brings down the total cheetah count from 24 to 20. This is the first time a cub has died since translocating cheetahs from Namibia to India.Kuno is located in northern Madhya Pradesh, and this terrain is apt for predators like the cheetah. There are vast grasslands plus ample prey in Kuno, which makes this national park perfect for long-distance runners like cheetahs.
Four cheetahs, including a cub, have died ever since these animals arrived in India. Barring the death of one female, all the other deaths are due to natural causes. This female died in an altercation between her and her suitor during mating.
The cub was weak and experts didn’t expect it to survive longer. A wildlife expert said that we shouldn’t worry about the death of the cub becauseits death is within the normal mortality rate. There will always be one or two weak cubs that will perish quickly. However, the large litter size of cheetah cubs ensures that there are enough healthy animals around when they grow up.
India had thousands of cheetahs at the turn of the 20th century. Many of these animals were used by kings to hunt prey like deer and other herbivores. However, the large-scale hunting of these apex predators by the British and the Indian kings led to the extinction of these felines. By the 1950s, there were no cheetahs in India.Project Cheetah aims to revive this species in India by translocating 20 animals from Africa to India.
Has Project Cheetah failed?
Experts are hopeful that the cheetah, like leopards, tigers and lions, will flourish in India. This is because India has successfully revived threatened species like lions and tigers.
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