Another cheetah 'Daksha' dies at Kuno National Park, third death in three months

A female cheetah, Daksha, brought from South Africa and placed in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, died on Tuesday. This is the third cheetah to die in Kuno since the cats were brought from South Africa and Namibia.

Madhya Pradesh chief Conservator of Forest JS Chauhan informed that Daksha was a female cheetah and was found wounded. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, Daksha couldn't be saved. 

"In Kuno National Park, a female Cheetah Daksha, brought from South Africa, died. This is the third death so far," said JS Chauhan, MP and Chief Conservator of Forests. 

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"Daksha was discovered injured in the morning by a KNP monitoring team. She was given the necessary medication and treatment right away, but she died around 12 noon," the official added. 

In a statement, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, stated: "Prima facie, the wounds found on the female cheetah Daksha seem to have been caused by a violent interaction with the male, during the courtship/ mating attempt... The autopsy of the dead female cheetah (Daksha) is being carried out by the veterinary team as per the protocol."

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Daksha was released in enclosure number one, and two male cheetahs, Vayu and Agni, were freed from boma 7 (enclosure) for mating, although the official said that the male cheetahs were agitated throughout the procedure, which is usual, reported PTI.

The second Cheetah, Uday, was discovered unwell in the national park in April and passed away while receiving treatment. A captive-bred cheetah named Sasha passed away in March from renal disease that she had been dealing with ever since she was brought to India. She began exhibiting indications of weakness and exhaustion on January 23, at which point authorities tranquillized her and sent her to a quarantine area where she would get care.

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