The four wild-born cheetahs that were born at the Kuno National Park ended their lives Tuesday, and forest officials believe they could have been killed by a leopard. The incident has come as a blow to India’s ambitious programme of reintroduction of cheetah, whose birth had been hailed as a significant conservation achievement.
The cubs were from a female cheetah that was called KGP12, and were found dead in her den in the Sheopur forest region, officials said. The Wildlife Health Program monitoring team conducting the daily check confirmed bodies of dead animals that were partially consumed. Initial investigations revealed deep wounds that were typical of and indicative of a possible leopard attack. Later, the mother was located near the area, who reported that she was safe.
Born on 11th April, the cubs were viewed as particularly important as they were among the first cheetahs to be born in the wild, with the help of the reintroduction programme. KGP12 herself is creation of a cheetah called Gamini originally brought from South Africa.
Noting that the cubs are being monitored 24 hours a day, Uttam Sharma, the field director of Kuno, told the reporters that they were healthy so far as the last monitoring was done on May 11. It has now been determined that the car cases have been sent for post-mortem to establish what really caused their deaths.
There are 14 adult cheetahs active in the wild in Kuno, about which officials said. There has been 57 cubs born so far from the project and though survival is a problem, threats such as predators, disease, and adaptation have made a safe life hard.