National desk, 15th July: The Union Forest Minister, Bhupendra Yadav, clarified on Saturday that the cheetahs still alive at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh will not be shifted outside the state following the death of the eighth cheetah brought from Namibia to India. He also noted that a dedicated team is currently investigating the recent deaths at the national park.
Yadav stated that a team has been assembled to look into the arrangements for the cheetahs that were purchased from Namibia in the state and that a review by international specialists was being done on the matter.
He said, “Our team is looking into the entire arrangement and testing for cheetahs and a review is underway. Even international experts have been roped in for the purpose. We are committed to taking good care of the Cheetahs. Our team will also visit Kuno. We had reviewed the arrangements earlier as well. We are aware of all the concerns but the Cheetahs will not be shifted from Madhya Pradesh.”
It should be noted that eight of the cheetahs bought from Namibia were lost within the past four months.
The first cheetah to pass away was Sasha, a female who passed away on March 27 from kidney disease. Following Uday’s death on April 23 from cardio-pulmonary failure, Daksha, a female cheetah, perished on May 9 from an altercation that occurred during a mating attempt. On May 25, two cheetah cubs also passed away due to “extreme weather conditions and dehydration.”
Meanwhile, African Cheetah named Suraj passed away on Friday. There were signs of injuries on the back and neck of the corpse.