Vets at Kuno claim Tejas hurt while mating, which led to death of African cheetah

Veterinarians reported that the large cat suffered injuries during mating a day after Tejas, another African male cheetah, died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

 

According to them, Tejas died before seeking treatment after suffering injuries during a fight with a female cheetah called Nabha during mating.

 

 

The post-mortem report has still not been submitted, nevertheless, by Dr. Atul Gupta from Bhopal Van Vihar and Dr. Kajal from the Veterinary College in Jabalpur. At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, members of the Kuno National Park monitoring crew saw injuries on Tejas’ top neck.

 

Tejas was sedated and prepared for treatment after wildlife medics on the scene inspected it and found that the wounds were significant. But at around 2 o’clock, the large cat died from its injuries.

 

Wildlife officials said, ‘Tejas was housed alone in enclosure number 6, while Nabha, the female cheetah, was placed in nearby enclosure number 5. In an attempt to facilitate their mating, the gate of enclosure number 5 was opened.’ Officials on wildlife have started an investigation into the situation.

 

With the passing of Tejas, the reintroduction effort that was announced with much enthusiasm in September last year has suffered a blow. Seven felines, including three cubs born to the Namibian cheetah Jwala, have died at the Kuno National Park since March.

 

 

Cheetah Tejas, who was about four years old, is believed to have died in Kuno from intramural conflict, according to Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife JS Chauhan.

 

The ambitious cheetah reintroduction effort included the import of the cat from South Africa, and it was in an enclosure when the tragedy occurred, the spokesperson added.

 

The most recent demise occurred the day after KNP released two more male cheetahs into the wild.

 

On September 17 of last year, eight Namibian cheetahs—five female and three male—were released into cages in KNP at a high-profile event to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a guest.

 

Twelve more cheetahs from South Africa arrived at KNP in February of this year. Twenty of the 24 cheetahs were relocated from South Africa and Namibia, while four cubs were born in Kuno. There are presently only 17 cats remaining in the national park overall.

 

In 1952, the nation’s swiftest land animal was deemed extinct.

 

Another forest official had earlier in the day reported that two additional cheetahs, Prabhash and Pavak, had been released into the wild in KNP on Monday, bringing the total to 12.