Madhya Pradesh wildlife officials, in collaboration with Namibian experts, are facing challenges in tracking two female cheetahs, Nirva and Dhatri, at Kuno National Park, as the radio collar of one of the cheetahs has stopped transmitting due to a technical malfunction.
In their efforts to locate the cheetahs, the officials have resorted to traditional tracking methods such as using elephants for patrolling, deploying ground teams and CCTVs, and seeking assistance from local villagers.
Regrettably, Nirva has remained untraceable ever since her radio collar ceased functioning.
The purpose of this tracking exercise is to bring the free-ranging cheetahs back to their enclosures, where their radio collars can be removed and the animals can be examined for possible infections caused by wet weather conditions.
This decision follows the unfortunate deaths of two male cheetahs in July.
On July 25, two translocated cheetahs, Prabhas and Veera, were successfully brought back to the enclosure for health checkups and were found to be in good condition.
Currently, there are 13 cheetahs, comprising seven males and six females, safely inside the enclosure. Despite some challenges with the radio collars, the monitoring teams are continuously observing and tracking the cheetahs.
Previously, two male cheetahs, Tejas and Suraj, reportedly died due to infections potentially caused by their collars during extreme wet conditions. However, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has refuted these claims as “unscientific.”
The park has encountered several other unfortunate incidents involving cheetahs, including the deaths of six cheetahs, including three cubs, due to skirmishes and health issues like renal and cardiac failure.
On September 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced eight Namibian cheetahs to Kuno National Park, and on February 18, 2023, an additional 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa to the park.
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