One of the eight cheetahs that were relocated from Namibia to India has died due to kidney-related problems. Sasha, a five-year-old female cheetah, was part of the first batch of cheetahs flown into Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.
The cheetah was one of two female big cats released in Kuno by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17 last year.
The reintroduction program aimed to revive the cheetah population in India, where they became extinct more than 70 years ago. The program brought eight Namibian cheetahs, five females and three males, to the KNP in November last year. Five female cheetahs were flown in from Namibia last year as part of the ambitious reintroduction program.
Last week, two more cheetahs, Elton and Freddie, were released into the wild in Madhya Pradesh. With that, four of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia have been released into the wild in the park in Sheopur district.
Cheetah’s death due to kidney infection
Sasha had shown signs of fatigue and weakness during a daily monitoring check, and a medical examination revealed that she was dehydrated and had kidney-related problems. The cheetah’s death is a setback to the reintroduction program, but efforts are underway to ensure the successful reintroduction of the cheetah population in India.
Sasha is three years old and one of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia and released in Kuno on September 17 last year, as part of India’s cheetah reintroduction programme. In the first few days, all the cheetahs were kept under observation in quarantine.
They were released into larger game enclosures in November. Since then, the cheetahs have hunted alone and have shown signs of adjusting to their new home.
The three female cheetahs hunted together while in the compartment. But the female cheetah Sasha got sick.
Sasha was brought to India last year as part of the first batch of cheetahs in the world’s first intercontinental translocation of big cats.
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