Tragic Loss and Triumph in Kuno National Park's Cheetah Project

Two cheetah cubs were discovered dead in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. Despite this setback, the 'Cheetah Project' continues to make strides as exemplified by the recent birth of cubs. Prime Minister Modi's initiative aims to restore the cheetah population across India, facing challenges but witnessing promising successes.

In a heartbreaking discovery at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, two cheetah cubs were found dead on Wednesday morning. The grim finding was made by a wildlife monitoring team, guided by radio telemetry data, during their inspection of the den of female cheetah known as 'Nirva'.

With no additional cubs discovered nearby and Nirva's health reportedly stable, authorities quickly moved to send samples from the deceased cubs for testing. A postmortem has been scheduled to uncover the cause of death. Meanwhile, the remaining cheetahs and twelve cubs in the park are said to be in good health.

This unfortunate event comes amidst commendations from Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who earlier praised the Cheetah Project's recent successes. Highlighting its achievements on social media platform X, Scindia celebrated Nirva's recent delivery of cubs, marking another milestone for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious initiative to revive an endangered cheetah presence in India.

Project Cheetah, launched to counter the species' near extinction, saw 20 cheetahs translocated to Kuno National Park, coming from Namibia in September 2022 and from South Africa in February 2023. Despite facing adversity, including the loss of eight adult cheetahs, the project boasts a series of successful births, with 17 cubs born and 12 surviving to date, thus elevating the park's cheetah population to 24.

Efforts to expand the cheetah population across the region are ongoing, with discussions involving states like Rajasthan and other areas in Madhya Pradesh. Initiatives are in progress to facilitate the rewilding process, and talks continue about potentially introducing cheetahs to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, with preparatory actions being addressed.

(With inputs from agencies.)