Expressing serious concern over the recent deaths of three cheetahs at Kuno National Park (KNP) of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The top court has asked the Union government to consider shifting them to Rajasthan.
A bench comprising justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol highlighted that the reports from experts and media articles indicate that the KNP may not be adequate to accommodate such a large number of cheetahs. They suggested that the Union government should consider shifting them to other sanctuaries.
On March 27, a female Cheetah named Sasha (from Namibia) died due to kidney ailment, on April 23, Uday (S Africa) died due to cardio-pulmonary failure and on May 9, another South African female cheetah named Daksha, died following a violent interaction with a male during a mating attempt.
“There are no cheetah experts in India as cheetahs went extinct from the country in 1947-48. Since then our officials have been to South Africa, Namibia and undergone specialized training on Cheetah management”, Bhati said, adding if the court is considering hearing views of cheetah experts, then it should hear all of them and not one or two, who have particular kind of opinions.
