The use of radio collars in the rainy and muggy Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh is thought to be the cause of at least three cheetahs having maggots around their necks, according to sources. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to conduct a high-level review meeting of Project Cheetah. The state government has expressed concern over the initiative as a result of the deaths of five adult cheetahs in Kuno after the translocation of 20 large cats from Namibia and South Africa in two batches in September 2018 and February 2023, respectively. At first, the Madhya Pradesh forest department attributed the deaths to territorial disputes or leopard attacks. The two cheetahs' deaths, however, were ultimately attributed to septicemia (bacterial blood poisoning), which developed after an infection around their necks—possibly brought on by the use of a radio collar in the moist, muggy weather—caused the forest department to later concede.
Rajesh Gopal, the chairman of the cheetah steering group, said that "fast spread of infection in their bodies" was the cause of deaths when a video leaked showing one of the cheetahs' bodies covered in maggots from neck to back. A representative from the state's forest department revealed on Monday that three more male cheetahs in the wild had been discovered to have maggots around their necks. This most likely occurred as a result of Kuno's extremely humid and damp weather. The reports of a maggot infestation in three more cheetahs, according to officials from the Union environment ministry, have not yet been confirmed.
After decades of work to revive a species deemed extinct in the nation in 1952, eight cheetahs were transferred to Kuno from Namibia on September 17 of last year as part of the first intercontinental translocation initiative. On February 18 of this year, 12 additional cheetahs were relocated from South Africa. Ten of the 20 cheetahs—of which three have since perished—were released into the wild. Two of the surviving animals—most of which were captive-bred—were housed in the six-square-kilometre cage.
According to Chairman Shivraj Singh Chouhan, more space should be made available for the restoration project as well as more forest guards. The state government ought to provide any help that is possible to the Cheetah Task Force, which the federal government established. It should be guaranteed that the area has access to all necessary supplies, including appropriate wildlife doctors. Additionally, a mechanism for routinely assessing cheetahs' health is under consideration.
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