Radio Collars Behind Kuno Cheetah Deaths? Experts Suggest Septicemia But Govt Says That's 'Speculative'

Kuno Cheetah News: Under Project Cheetah, a total of 20 radio-collared cheetahs were imported from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

Kuno Cheetah Death: The deaths of cheetahs at Kuno National Park have raised concerns as the authorities plan to settle cheetahs in the region. According to preliminary reports from veterinary doctors, a couple of cheetahs died as a result of injuries caused by their radio collars, leading to infections. Dr Rajesh Gopal, Chairman of the Cheetah Steering Committee, has said radio collars are still placed on the 15 surviving cheetahs, and they are getting checked for similar infections.

"It is highly unusual. I have also seen it for the first time. It's a cause for concern and we have directed (MP forest staff) to check all the cheetahs," he told PTI. "We have been using collars in wildlife conservation for around 25 years in India. I have never come across such an incident. We have good, smart collars available these days. Still, if such an incident is happening, we will have to bring it to the notice of manufacturers," Gopal added.

The government has, however, said reports attributing deaths to factors like radio collars were "speculation and hearsay".

Postmortem of the big cats did not reveal any signs of animal attacks or predators on the cheetahs' skin, indicating that they likely succumbed to septicemia. The death of the cheetahs, Tejas and Suraj, prompted a postmortem examination and consultation with experts from South Africa. Officials involved in the Cheetah project concluded that both cheetahs fell victim to septicemia. Suraj's death, in particular, was attributed to the infection caused by the radio collar.

South African cheetah metapopulation expert Vincent van der Merwe told PTI that extreme wet conditions are causing the radio collars to create infection and possibly that was the reason behind the cheetahs' death. "Both the cheetahs died of septicemia," he was quoted as saying.

Cheetah Death At Kuno National Park Due To 'Natural Causes': Govt

The environment ministry said Sunday five out of the 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa died due to "natural causes", and that media reports attributing deaths to factors like radio collars were not based on "scientific evidence but are speculation and hearsay".

The ministry, in a statement, also said consultations are being conducted with international cheetah experts and veterinary doctors from South Africa and Namibia to investigate the cause of the cheetah deaths in Kuno National Park.

Speaking in Bhopal Saturday, Union Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said: "We are in touch with experts, including international experts. Our team will visit there."

In response to the cheetah deaths, a decision was made during a virtual meeting of the Cheetah Steering Committee to intensify patrolling efforts in Kuno.

It was also decided that control rooms would be established in villages within a 60-kilometre radius of the park. These control rooms will enable villagers to report any information concerning the cheetahs. An emergency meeting held by the park management resulted in the provision of binoculars to the cheetah monitoring team.

Furthermore, the monitoring team was instructed to immediately alert doctors if they observed any infection signs. Members from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have been assigned to monitor the cheetahs and report any instances of infection closely. It has been decided that all cheetahs should undergo testing, and those found to be infected will receive appropriate medical treatment.

(With PTI inputs)