Cheetah Deaths Were ‘Expected’ In ‘Risky’ Relocation To India: South Africa

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) South Africa on Thursday said the deaths of two cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park are within expected mortality rates for a project of this nature. In a statement issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) South Africa said, "The cheetah joined eight of the mammals relocated to India's Kuno National Park from Namibia in September 2022. The two cheetah deaths (one from Namibia and one from South Africa) observed to date are within expected mortality rates for a project of this nature." The cheetahs were relocated to Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh as part of an initiative to expand the cheetah meta-population and to reintroduce cheetahs to a former range state. The statement further said, "Large carnivore reintroductions are extremely complex and inherently risky operations. This is a critical phase of the project, with cheetahs being released into larger environments where there is increasingly less control over their day-to-day wellbeing." According to the statement, the risks for injury and mortality will be increasing, and these risks are factored into the reintroduction plan. & quot; The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) awaits a diagnosis (an autopsy) for the death of the cheetah, but there is no indication that it is any form of infectious disease or that there is a similar threat to any of the other cheetahs", the government of South Africa said in a statement.