In another unfortunate incident, Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park has lost yet another cheetah, marking the ninth death since the inception of Project Cheetah in September 2022. Authorities issued a statement stating that a female named Dhatri (Tiblisi) was found dead on the morning of August 2, 2023.
The deceased cheetah, named Dhatri (also known as Tbilisi), was born at the Erindi Private Game Reserve in Namibia in April 2020. Her mother, Georgia, was successfully reintroduced into the wild over three years after rehabilitation, making Tbilisi’s loss even more poignant.
Two animals, including the cheetah, were relocated to a more spacious enclosure within the park. Recently, Nirva, a female with a radio collar, stopped transmitting signals. Officials have been making efforts to locate her and bring her back to the quarantine enclosure.
Ninth cheetah dies in Kuno
“The statement read that they found Dhatri (Tiblisi), one of the female cheetahs, dead this morning. They are conducting a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.”
A team is intensively monitoring a female cheetah that is out in the open in Kuno, while 14 cheetahs — seven males, six females, and one female cub — are kept in the bomas. The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department said efforts are underway to bring her back to the boma for a health examination.
Despite the unfortunate loss of several individuals, experts remain optimistic about India’s contribution to cheetah conservation. Tbilisi’s story serves as a symbol of hope and determination. She was one of the five Namibian female cheetahs relocated to Kuno National Park, where she celebrated her first successful hunt on International Cheetah Day.
Project Cheetah’s initiative saw the import of 20 radio-collared animals from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park, with four cubs later born from Namibian cheetah ‘Jwala’. Regrettably, nine cheetahs, including three cubs, have died since then.
Keep Reading
- 7 cheetahs dead; is India’s Project Cheetah failing?
- 2nd Cheetah died in Kuno in a month, is India’s Cheetah project failing?
- Female Cheetah ‘Daksha’ dies in Kuno National Park
- Cheetahs death at Kuno: South African govt expected this
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