New Delhi : Netizens are questioning whether ‘Project Cheetah’ is worth it as the only free-ranging cheetah named Pawan passed away in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park recently.
The carcass of five-year-old male Namibian cheetah was found near the edge of an overflowing drain around 10:30 am on Tuesday.
The veternarians, upon close inspection, found the cheetah front half of the body, including the head, inside the water which led them to suspect drowning as the cause of death.
As no visible external injuries were found anywhere on the cheetah’s body, poaching has been ruled out as of now.
“The preliminary cause of death seems to be drowning. Further details will be provided after the postmortem report is received,” an official statement said.
Pawan ’s death came just after a five-month-old cub born to a cheetah named Gamini died in the national park on August 5.
Pawan had fathered at least seven out 16 cubs born in Kuno in the past one-and-half-years.
With Pawan’s death, netizens took to social media to question about the worthiness of Project Cheetah.
“Someone seriously needs to review the big picture here and try and assess if this pursuit is worth its ‘cost’ and we’re not talking money here,” one wrote.
“These poor animals are paying a heavy price for an ill conceived project,” another added.
Under ‘Project Cheetah’, eight Namibian cheetahs – five females and also three males – were released into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in September 2022.
Thereafter, in February 2023, an additional 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa.
The project was altogether aimed at re-introducing cheetahs to India’s ecosystem as they had become extinct in the country after independence.
With the death of Pawan, Kuno National Park is left with 24 cheetahs, including 12 adults and also 12 cubs.