Apr 24, 2023
By: Ananya Tawakley
Seven months after cheetahs were re-introduced to India, there is both good and bad news on the front. Within days of giving the Namibian cheetahs Indian names amidst great fanfare, one of the translocated cheetahs passed away.
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Six-year-old Namibian male cheetah Uday, brought into India in February, along with 11 other cheetahs, passed away on April 23. The cause of his death is yet to be ascertained.
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J S Chauhan, wildlife warden however said that Uday was completely normal until Saturday but appeared low on energy and unwell on Sunday. He died whilst being transported to the quarantine enclosure.
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According to expert Vincent van der Merwe, a wild cheetah like Uday lost fitness during the months of captivity after translocation, and experienced chronic stress.
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Uday was not the first cheetah to have passed away. On March 27, another translocated cheetah named Sasha died of kidney ailments. She had not been healthy in the six months since she arrived at Kuno in Madhya Pradesh, in India.
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Cheetahs dwell in grasslands and open plains. Although Kuno has been deemed the most suitable environment in India, it has only 1,400 sq km of grassland while male cheetahs ideally need 3,000-4,000 sq km.
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Their main prey of cheetahs in India is chital or the spotted deer, but they diversified to Nilgai, the Asian antelope. In general, they tend to chase after smaller prey, and in Namibia, their common targets are rabbits, imphala, gazelles. But they are also known to attack even zebras and wildebeest.
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18 cheetahs remain of the 20 that were brought to India. However four cheetah cubs were born recently, and that takes the total number to 22.
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Alarming villagers, two cheetahs Oban and Asha ventured out of the park on April 6, 2023.
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The animals were brought back to introduce independent India’s only extinct large mammal – the cheetah. The plan is to introduce 50 cheetahs into various national parks over five years.
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Cheetahs, referred to as the smallest of the big cats, were widely prevalent in India once upon a time. But hunting for sport and other reasons led to their extinction in 1952. It is believed that the translocation will help restore India’s grasslands.
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