Bhopal: One more Cheetah was found dead in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on Wednesday (August 2) morning. The cause of the death of the female Cheetah Dhatri (Tbilisi) is yet to be determined.
The body of the Cheetah has been sent for post-mortem, authorities at the Kuno National Park said. “Today one of the female Cheetahs, Dhatri (Tbilisi), was found dead. To determine the cause of the death, a post-mortem is being conducted,” Aseem Srivastava, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said.
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Notably in a recent affidavit filed at the Supreme Court in connection with the death of 5 Cheetahs and 3 cubs in the Kuno National Park, the Centre stated the deaths had occurred due to ‘natural causes’ and not due to the “inherent unsuitability” of the Kuno National Park site.
“All the 14 cheetahs (07 males, 06 females and 01 female cub) kept in Kuno National Park are healthy and their health is being regularly monitored by the team of Kuno wildlife veterinarians and the Namibian expert,” said Aseem Srivastava.
He further added that the two other Cheetahs roaming in the open are being actively monitored. “The two remaining female cheetahs that are still out in the open are being intensively monitored daily by a Namibian expert, a Kuno veterinarian and a management team and efforts are being made to bring them back to bomas for their health examination.”
The cheetah, Tbilisi (named Dhatri), was born at the Erindi Private Game Reserve in Namibia in April 2020. Her mother, Georgia, was a rehabilitated cheetah, successfully reintroduced into the wild over three years ago. The name “Tbilisi” was given to her in honour of the capital of Georgia. At the time of her passing, Tbilisi was nearly 3.5 years old.
Efforts to monitor and treat Tbilisi had been ongoing for the past two weeks. However, the task proved to be challenging due to the failure of her collar signal, which prevented the authorities from locating and providing her with the necessary medical attention.
Officials have emphasized that this issue is not isolated to India alone, but a challenge faced in cheetah conservation worldwide. It’s a familiar concern in African regions as well. Nevertheless, this experience has offered a crucial lesson for the Kuno teams, enabling them to be vigilant in safeguarding cheetahs in the future.
Experts have expressed that despite losing several individuals, India’s contribution to cheetah conservation may ultimately aid in the survival of this species in the long run. Tbilisi’s story stands as a symbol of hope and determination. She was among the five Namibian female cheetahs that found a new home in Kuno National Park, and she celebrated her first successful hunt on International Cheetah Day.
