‘Reports attributing some cheetah deaths to radio collar use speculative’

New Delhi: The environment ministry on Sunday said five out of the 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa died due to natural causes and media reports attributing the deaths to factors like radio collars were based on “speculation and hearsay without scientific evidence”.

In a statement, the ministry also said several steps have been planned to support the cheetah project, including the establishment of a Cheetah Research Center with facilities for rescue, rehabilitation, capacity building, and interpretation.

“Out of 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa to India, five mortalities of adult cheetahs have been reported. As per the preliminary analysis, all mortalities are due to natural causes. There are reports in the media attributing cheetah deaths due to radio collar etc. Such reports are not based on any scientific evidence but on speculation and hearsay,” the statement said.

The ministry said consultations are being conducted with international cheetah experts and veterinary doctors from South Africa and Namibia to investigate the cause of the cheetah deaths.

The project’s monitoring protocols, protection measures, managerial inputs, veterinary facilities, training, and capacity building aspects are also being reviewed by independent national experts, it said.

It said the Centre’s Cheetah Project Steering Committee is closely monitoring the project’s progress and has expressed satisfaction with its implementation. The government has deployed a dedicated team from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to work closely with field officials.

This team is responsible for analyzing real-time field data collected by monitoring teams to make informed decisions regarding management, health, and related interventions for the cheetahs, the ministry said.

Male cheetah Suraj, translocated from South Africa, died at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur on Friday, while another translocated male cheetah Tejas died on Tuesday. Some experts on the cheetah project said that some recent deaths could possibly be due to an infection caused by radio collars though that is highly unusual and collars have been used in wildlife conservation in India for over two decades. Other experts, however, said only the post-mortem report will determine the exact cause. Rajesh Gopal, the head of cheetah project steering committee, said the reason for the cheetahs’ death could be septicemia from radio collar use. “It is highly unusual. I have also seen it for the first time. It’s a cause for concern and we have directed (MP forest staff) to check all cheetahs,” he said.