The environment ministry and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that a provisional diagnosis of the deaths of eight cheetahs at Kuno National Park “point towards natural causes”.
An affidavit said the deaths did not occur due to “unnatural reasons” like poaching, sharing, road hits, electrocution, etc.
“NTCA today has no reason to believe that the mortalities were caused on account of any inherent unsuitability at the Kuno site,” the affidavit said.
Mortalities, ‘not alarming’
The government and NTCA, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, said the mortalities though troubling and in need of redressal and curtailment, were not unduly alarming.
The government said the big cats had low survival rates, 50%, even in adults. In an “introduced population” of cheetahs, cubs have about 10% survival.
Two batches of cheetahs, eight from Namibia and 12 from South Africa, were translocated to Kuno National Park in September 2022 and February 2023. Fifteen adult cheetahs and one Indian-born cub survive. Five adult cheetahs and three cubs were reported dead in Kuno. The cubs were found “severely dehydrated and underweight”.
The Supreme Court, on July 20, had remarked that the deaths of 40% of the 20 cheetahs did not present a good picture.
The affidavit however assured that steps have been taken to ensure the well-being of the surviving cheetahs, including their capture and administration of critical medical examination. Thirteen adults and one cub have already been captured and treated.
12-14 cheetahs annually
According to an action plan, the government and the NTCA intend to introduce 12-14 cheetahs annually from African countries for the next five years. This would depend on the availability of the big cats from these countries as well as the status of habitat, prey-base and protection mechanism on the ground.
The court had also urged the government to move the big cats to a more conducive environment, if required, and not make it a “prestige issue”.
The affidavit submitted that besides the Kuno National Park and its extended landscape of 6800 per sq.km, the NTCA has requested Madhya Pradesh on June 28 to add areas in Shivpuri, Sheopur divisions and Heerupur wildlife sanctuary.
The affidavit said the cheetah action plan had identified, besides Kuno, other sites like Gandhi Sagar and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh, Shahgarh Bulge, Bhainsrorgarh wildlife sanctuary and Mukundra Hills tiger reserve in Rajasthan as potential sites for cheetah introduction. After Kuno now, Gandhi Sagar and Nauradehi are being prepared for the cheetah population.
However, the NTCA said experts were of the considered opinion that Mukundra may not be able to accommodate cheetahs owing to ihe deaths/disappearance of five tigers in a very short span of time in 2020, the presence of feral cattle carrying parasitic load, low prey density and 57% vacancy in frontline staff posts.
The court is scheduled to hear the case on August 1.
