A second cheetah has died in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park after falling sick on Sunday morning, this is the second death in a month. The cheetah was named Uday and was 6 years old and was one of the 12 cheetahs brought to India from South Africa in February but passed away within 2 months.
In the daily checkup Uday seemed lethargic and was limping therefore he was tranquilized and first round of treatment was provided at 11am after which he was taken out from the large enclosure but he died at 4pm. The cause of death will be determined after autopsy, according to forest officials. In March another cheetah named Sasha passed away who was brought from Namibia, cause of death was renal failure.
JS Chauhan, the MP forest chief wildlife warden stated “the wildlife medical team inspected the cheetah and he appeared sick. The doctors and cheetah expert from Cheetah Conservation Fund decided to shift to a quarantine Boma (enclosure) immediately.” According to South African cheetah expert Vincent Van Der Merwe, Uday was suffering from chronic stress. “Like the 11 others, he was a wild cheetah. He was very healthy before shifting to Boma in July 2022 for the translocation project, after 10 months in captivity, he lost fitness and suffering from chronic stress” he said. “The cheetahs must go back into the wild where they belong, they are unhappy in cages,” he stated.