A cheetah cub died from pellet injuries at Kuno National Park on Monday, a day after it was found wounded in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district. This is the first recorded death of a cheetah since their reintroduction to India in September 2022.
On Monday, a cheetah cub at Kuno National Park succumbed to pellet injuries sustained the previous day. The incident occurred within Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district, according to The Indian Express. Dr Shobha Jawre from the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry in Jabalpur confirmed that the 19-month-old male cub died as a result of pellet injuries. Removal of pellets was performed during an operation on the cub's body.
A report detailing the incident has been submitted to the wildlife department, The Indian Express reported. The cub was found injured by a monitoring team in the Morena territorial forest division on Sunday and transported to the veterinary institute in Jabalpur.
The State Tiger Strike Force, a wildlife crime investigation unit, is investigating persons responsible for the cheetah’s killing. According to The Indian Express, the unit's focus lies in examining both suspected poaching attempts and human-animal conflicts.
It is important to note that this is the first recorded death of a cheetah since their reintroduction to India in September 2022. Previously, the wild cats were officially declared extinct by the Indian government in 1952, having last been recorded in the country in 1948.
There are now a total of 54 cheetahs in India, of whom 50 are in the Kuno National Park and four are in the Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary.
Source:
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