Another Cheetah Dhatri Dies In Madhya Pradesh's Kuno; Thick Coats Leading To Cheetah Deaths?

 

Sheopur: Female Cheetah Dhatri (Tbilisi) has died in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Aseem Srivastava said – Dhatri was found dead in the morning. Post-mortem is being done to find out the cause of death.

Meanwhile, the natural process of cheetahs developing thick coats of fur in anticipation of African winter appears to be proving fatal in India's wet and hot conditions, international experts involved in the Project Cheetah have said.
Since March 26, nine cheetahs have died. Among them are three cubs, which were born in Kuno.
 

Earlier, the Kuno management issued a press note saying, '14 cheetahs (7 males, 6 females and 1 cub) kept in the enclosure at Kuno National Park are healthy. Wildlife experts from Kuno and Namibia are continuously doing their health checkup.'

Apart from these, two female cheetahs roaming in the open forest were being monitored and efforts were on to bring them into the enclosure. One of the two female cheetahs, Tbilisi, was found dead this morning. With her death only one female cheetah is out in the open and efforts are on to bring her into enclosure.

The only female cheetah out in the open and is under intensive monitoring by the team. Efforts are under way to bring her back to an enclosure for a health examination.
 

Tbilisi was walking through the open woods of Kuno National Park. She was to be brought for health checkup, for the last 10 days the forest department team was searching for her. Her location could not be traced as her radio collar had stopped working.
 

Two cheetahs had died last month

 

Last month, two cheetahs died due to infection in wounds caused by the radio collars around their necks. However, the environment ministry said all cheetah deaths were due to natural causes.

 

Congress state president Kamal Nath has targeted the Shivraj government over the death of cheetahs in Kuno. Kamal Nath tweeted, 'Even after the continuous death of cheetahs in Kuno, the government is adamant that it will not shift the cheetahs.'
 

Thick coats of fur leading to cheetah deaths?

 

Meanwhile, the natural process of cheetahs developing thick coats of fur in anticipation of African winter appears to be proving fatal in India's wet and hot conditions, international experts involved in the Project Cheetah have said.

In a report to the government, they suggested interventions such as shaving off the winter coats to deal with fatal infections and prevent any more death.

The experts said that the thicker coats, high parasite load and moisture create a perfect recipe for dermatitis with fly strike on top of it compounding the infection and compromising the skin's integrity.

A government official associated with the project said that not all the felines have developed thicker coats.

"Some of these cheetahs who do not have long hair are not facing such issues. So it's natural selection. The fittest of them and their offsprings will survive and thrive in the Indian conditions," the official said on condition of anonymity.

However, the report notes that the climate itself is not a significant limiting factor for cheetahs as their historical range extends from southern Russia to South Africa, overlapping with various climatic zones.