Supreme Court Says Number Of Cheetah Deaths At Kuno National Park Not Low

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday observed that the number of African cheetahs that have died at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) was ‘not low.’

The Supreme Court Bench, which comprised Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra, remarked that there was concern about the deaths of cheetahs at Kuno among the general public, said a report from Bar and Bench.

The hearing by the apex court came just days after one more adult cheetah, which was brought from Namibia last year in September, died at the KNP. Till now, six adult cheetahs, which were all relocated from Namibia and South Africa, along with three cubs that were born in India, have died since March this year. This brings the total number of cheetah deaths in KNP to nine, including the three cubs.

Under the ambitious Project Cheetah taken up by the central government, a total of 20 animals were relocated from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park in two batches. While the first batch was relocated in September last year, the second was done in February this year.

At the hearing, while appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati opined that there was “nothing alarming” and that the government had been in the process of releasing updates on its own, alleging that there is lack of accuracy of some media reports.

To this, Justice Narasimha then remarked, “But the number of deaths is not low.”

Bhati also argued that it should be noted what has been achieved with great responsibility, despite the negative media publicity being given to the issue. He went on to add that the spike in death numbers was a result of the inclusion of deaths of the three cubs that were born to one of the cheetahs. However, there was no explanation how they died.

In response to Justice Narasimha’s remark whether the Centre’s submissions mean that everything is alright, the ASG said experts are shaping responses to new situations.

Union minister Bhupender Yadav also said on Saturday that there was no plan to relocate cheetahs from the KNP. The government accepted the sensitivity of the project of the cheetah reintroduction and wants it to be a complete success, the minister for environment, forest and climate change told reporters.

Replying to a query on the relocation of cheetahs from the KNP, Yadav said that there was no plan about that. He opined that the deaths could be result of the infection caused by insects due to monsoon. “We have lost two cheetahs due to the infection. We have also shared information with experts from South Africa, Namibia and we are moving forward on its management,” while adding that all forest officials and veterinarians were working hard at the KNP.

Also Read: Manipur Violence Case: Supreme Court Proposes Three-Member Committee Of Women Ex-Judges To Oversee Probe

Also Watch: