Suraj: Eighth cheetah dies at Kuno National Park

Subject: Environment

Section: SPECIES IN NEW

Context:

An eighth cheetah, a male named Suraj was found dead on the morning of July 14, 2023, at the Kuno National Park (KNP).

Details:

The primary investigation found the cause of death to be due to injuries on the neck and back. A detailed understanding and actual details will be known after an autopsy.
Extreme wet conditions are causing the collars worn by the animals to create infections. Both Tejas and Suraj died of septicemia.
Earlier, six cheetahs including Agni (male), Sasha (female died due to renal failure), Uday (due to cardiac failure), and Daksha (female) had died.
Eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 cheetahs from South Africa were introduced in the KNP.
On March 29, Jwala, a female from Namibia, gave birth to a litter of four cubs. Three have died since then.

Eight Cheetahs from Namibia are:

The male cheetahs are named Freddie, Elton and Oban, while the female cheetahs are named Siyaya, Aasha, Tbilisi, Sasha and Savannah.
Namibian cheetahs Tiblisi, Siyaya, Savannah and Oban are now named Dhatri, Jwala, Nabha and Pawan.

African Cheetah

IUCN status – Vulnerable
CITES status – Appendix-I of the List. This List comprises of migratory species that have been assessed as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range.
Habitat – Around 6,500-7,000 African cheetahs are present in the wild.
Physical Characteristics – Bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah.

Asian Cheetah

IUCN Status – Critically Endangered.
CITES – Appendix I of the list
Habitat – 40-50 found only in Iran.
Physical Characteristics – Smaller and paler than the African cheetah. Has more fur, a smaller head and a longer neck. Usually have red eyes and they have a more cat-like appearance.

Kuno National Park:

It was established, in 1981, as a wildlife sanctuary in the Sheopur and Morena districts. It was also known as Kuno-Palpur and Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary.
In 2018, it was given the status of a National Park.
It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
The protected area is largely a dry deciduous forest.