Cheetah deaths at Kuno not low, but no reason to disbelieve govt efforts, says SC

As of now, six adult cheetahs — all relocated from Namibia and South Africa — and three cubs born in India have died since March this year at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.

Eight cheetahs were flown to the KNP from Namibia on September 17, 2022, while another 12 were brought from South Africa in February this year.

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The Supreme Court on Monday said it had “no reason to disbelieve” the Centre on efforts being undertaken to stop the deaths of cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and P K Mishra, which took up applications seeking the court’s intervention in the matter, said it does not have the expertise in the field and it is better to leave it to wildlife experts.

The bench, however, remarked that the death of six out of 20 cheetahs brought into the country, and three of four cubs born in India, is “not low”.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said every attempt is being made to ensure the well-being of the animals. She pointed out that the Centre had given shape to an 11-member expert committee to monitor the health of the surviving cheetahs and sought to assure the court that the government will take inputs from international cheetah conservationists.

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Bhati reiterated that the deaths were not alarming and even a 50 percent survival rate is good enough. The ASG said some of the media reports are not correct and the government is planning to bring out figures.