Another Namibian cheetah dies in India

A Namibian cheetah named Shaurya died on Tuesday in India's Kuno National Park in the Madhya Pradesh province. Forestry officials noticed on Tuesday morning that the male cheetah was weak and off-balance.

According to a statement issued by the forestry department, veterinarians tranquillised and treated the cheetah, but "complications arose after attempts to save the cheetah, and the cat did not respond to cardiopulmonary resuscitation."

The cause of death will only be determined after a post-mortem examination.

Rehoming challenges

A total of 20 cheetahs – eight from Namibia and 12 from South Africa – were resettled in the park in 2022 after the species went extinct in India more than 70 years ago.

This is the tenth cheetah to die in Kuno.

So far, seven adults and three cubs have died in the park due to various causes.

The Indian government has maintained that all fatalities were due to "natural causes," including "traumatic shock" and dehydration.

However, cheetah experts said last year that septicemia caused by infected neck wounds led to some of the deaths and that one of the cheetah fatalities could have been prevented.

Dr Laurie Marker, director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia, told Namibia Media Holdings: "We, like our Indian colleagues, are very saddened by these losses." She said the resettlement of cheetahs is a challenging process.

"Losses are unfortunately expected. We have all worked hard to minimise losses," Marker said.

"We still see so many losses here in Namibia, which are not caused by nature but by humans,” she added.

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