Cheetah deaths were ‘expected’ in ‘risky’ relocation, says South African govt

The deaths of two cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park are within expected mortality rates for a project of this nature, said the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) South Africa on Thursday.

DFFE, South Africa, issued a statement which said, "The cheetah joined eight of the mammals relocated to India's Kuno National Park from Namibia in September 2022. The two cheetah deaths (one from Namibia and one from South Africa) observed to date are within expected mortality rates for a project of this nature."

The statement further said, "Large carnivore reintroductions are extremely complex and inherently risky operations. This is a critical phase of the project, with cheetahs being released into larger environments where there is increasingly less control over their day-to-day wellbeing."

As part of an initiative to expand the country's cheetah population and reintroduce cheetahs to a former range state, these cheetahs were relocated to Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.

The statement claims that there will be an increase in the risks of injury and mortality and that the reintroduction plan considers these risks.

"The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) awaits a diagnosis (an autopsy) for the death of the cheetah, but there is no indication that it is any form of infectious disease or that there is a similar threat to any of the other cheetahs", the government of South Africa said in a statement.

The statement further added, "All the South African cheetahs are in larger enclosures and are closely monitored twice daily. As they are wild cheetahs, their behaviour, movements, and body condition must be evaluated from a distance, limiting the ability of teams on the ground to gain precise knowledge of their health status."

"The remaining eleven South African cheetahs will be released into free-ranging conditions over the next two months. Kuno is an unfenced protected area that supports a high density of competing predators including leopards, wolves, sloth bears, and striped hyenas. It is anticipated that, as observed with cheetah reintroductions in Africa, a few of the founder population may be lost within the first-year post-release", the statement said.

The statement added, "Many of the released cheetahs will escape the boundaries of Kuno National Park and may have to go through short-term stress during the recapture process. Once the cheetahs have established home ranges, the situation will stabilise."

DFFE's statement comes after India saw the deaths of two exotic cheetahs which were brought in from South Africa and Namibia. Six-year-old Uday died on April 23 and about a month before, Sasha, a five-year-old cheetah who was brought in from Namibia, died of kidney failure after being diagnosed with an infection in January this year.

The governments of South Africa and India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this year on cooperation in reintroducing cheetahs to India.

The MoU stated that it supports conservation, ensures that knowledge is shared and exchanged, and guarantees that capacity is established to promote cheetah conservation. It also encourages cooperation between the two nations to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India.

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