The death of three cheetahs relocated from South Africa and Namibia to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) in less than two months has drawn severe concern from the Supreme Court, which has urged the government to put politics aside and consider moving the animals to Rajasthan.
According to expert reports and articles, it appears that the KNP is insufficient for such a huge number of cheetahs, and the Union government may consider moving them to other sanctuaries, a bench of justices led by BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol informed the Centre.
“Three deaths (of cheetahs) in less than two months is a matter of serious concern. There are opinions of experts and articles in media. It appears that Kuno is not sufficient for so many cheetahs. There is too much concentration of cheetahs at one place. Why don’t you look for suitable place in Rajasthan? Merely because Rajasthan is ruled by opposition party does not mean, you will not consider it,” the bench said.
Aishwarya Bhati, the Additional Solicitor General for the Centre, stated that the task force is aware of the fatalities and is looking into every angle, including moving them to alternative sanctuaries.
Sasha, a female cheetah from Namibia, passed away on March 27 from kidney disease; Uday, a cheetah from South Africa, passed away on April 23 from cardio-pulmonary failure; and Daksha, another South African female cheetah, passed away on May 9 as a result of a violent encounter with a male during a mating attempt.
The bench stated that based on the findings, it appears that one cheetah died from kidney-related illness and another passed away after being injured during a dispute between two males over mating.
“We came to know that the cheetah which died due to kidney related ailment was suffering from the problem before being brought to India. Question is how was that female cheetah cleared to be brought to India, if the feline was suffering from ailment,” the bench said.
According to Bhati, all of the fatalities had autopsies, and a task group is looking into the matter.
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