Why cheetah cubs are dying at MP's Kuno National Park

In a setback to Project Cheetah, two more cubs of Namibian cheetah Jwala died inside Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Thursday. The cheetah gave birth to four cubs on March 24, out of which one died earlier on Tuesday. According to authorities, the last surviving cub has been kept under observation as his health continues to be critical.

As per the statement released by Kuno National Park, "All the cub cheetahs were found to be weak, underweight, and poorly hydrated." A preliminary investigation revealed that the cause of death of the three cubs was malnutrition. "Cubs, when nearly eight weeks old, desire to remain huddled around their mother. They had begun to trod with their mother 8-10 days ago," the park said.

"As per cheetah experts, the percentage of cub cheetahs surviving in Africa is usually very low. Under the standard protocol, the procedure for postmortem is underway," the statement further read. Moreover, the authorities said the mother cheetah was healthy and kept under observation. The latest deaths have increased the count of fatalities among cheetahs in Kuno to six.

According to India Today, Vincent Van Der Merwe, a South African cheetah metapopulation expert, said, "Cub mortality is particularly high for wild cheetahs. Cheetahs have evolved to give birth to large litter compared to other wild cats. This enables them to compensate for the high cub mortality rate." He added that these deaths should be viewed within the context of "survival of the fittest."

Van Der Merwe told PTI that India should fence two to three habitats for the translocated cheetahs as there has never been a successful reintroduction into an unfenced reserve in recorded history. He added that the worst is yet to come for cheetahs, as in the next few months they will try to establish territories and come face-to-face with leopards and tigers.