New Delhi: With five of the 20 adult cheetahs translocated from Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh besides three of their cubs dying allegedly due to infection caused by the radio collars, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a high-level review meeting of Project Cheetah on Wednesday, sources said. It is learnt that Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will also participate in the meeting.
The meeting comes amid alarming deaths of five of the 20 adult cheetahs which were translocated in two batches from Namibia and South Africa to the Kuno National Park in September last year. Three cubs have also died at the KNP. It also comes a day after CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a review meeting of the Problem Project Cheetah with top officials.
Also read: Madhya Pradesh: 2 more cheetahs released in KNP free range, count increases to 12
The deaths of the big cats, two of which were reported only last week have left the BJP government at the Centre in general and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan led Madhya Pradesh government in particular red faced. The alarming deaths have also raised a question over the success of Project Cheetah, which was trumpeted as the BJP government's major achievement in terms of wildlife protection.
The deaths of the cheetahs has caught the Madhya Pradesh government unawares. The MP forest department initially attributed the deaths to "territorial fight or attack by leopard". However, amid hue and cry from various quarters especially the opposition Congress, the forest department admitted that the death of two cheetahs last week was caused due to septicaemia (blood poisoning caused by bacteria) triggered by the infection around their necks possibly caused by use of radio collars.
It can be recalled that the 20 cheetahs were brought to the Kuno National Park in two batches in September last year and February this year. Eight cheetahs were brought to Kuno from Namibia on September 17 last year. Another batch of 12 cheetahs were translocated to KNP from South Africa on Feb. 18 this year.
