Three cheetah cubs born to a big cat brought to India from Africa last year were reported dead, Friday (26/5/2023). The three cheetah cubs were housed in the Ancient India National Park.
As reported by the AP, the three poor animals died because the heat wave in the region sent temperatures soaring. The three cheetah cubs are the first to be born in India in more than seven decades.
Once widespread in India, the cheetah became extinct in 1952 due to hunting and loss of habitat. The mother of three cheetah cubs was among 20 flown by India from Namibia and South Africa.
The project is part of an ambitious and contested plan to reintroduce the world’s fastest land animal to the South Asian country.
The first lion cub died on Tuesday, prompting vets at a national park in Madhya Pradesh state to closely monitor the mother and her three remaining cubs. The cubs looked weak on Thursday afternoon, when the temperature soared to 47 degrees Celsius.
The authorities have stepped in to help the cats. “They are weak, emaciated and very dehydrated. Two of them later died,” forestry officials said in a statement.
The last surviving cheetah cub is being treated in a critical care facility. Officials did not say what caused the deaths, but the intense heat in India is believed to have weakened the children. The survival rate of cheetah cubs in both the wild and captivity is low, according to experts.
The cats were introduced with much fanfare and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the cats would catalyze efforts to preserve India’s neglected prairies. However, of the 20 adult cheetahs imported to India, three – two females and one male – have died.
Source : Sindo News