The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to address the “public concern” about the deaths of six of the 20 adult cheetahs, translocated from South Africa and Namibia, at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh.
Appearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said the deaths, though unfortunate, were expected.
Ms. Bhati said an 11-member expert committee had been formed by the Centre to monitor the health of the surviving cheetahs. The law officer assured the court that the government would take inputs from international cheetah conservationists.
When asked about the reasons for the deaths, Ms. Bhati blamed the hot summer.
‘Winter coats’
She said the cheetahs had grown “winter coats” as the season was winter in the African continent. Ms. Bhati said the winter coats had led to infection.
“Was that not expected? What steps did you take when you brought them here? What was your vision when translocating them,” Justice P.S. Narasimha asked.
Ms. Bhati said the surviving animals had been treated and were under close monitoring.
“So the sum and substance of what you are saying is that everything is well,” Justice Narasimha asked.
The court was hearing an application by conservationists who complained that the Centre was not taking effective steps to prevent cheetah deaths at KNP. They alleged that the government had stopped consulting an international task force set up to ease the acclimatisation of the big cats.
The court finally disposed of the application, saying it found no reason to disbelieve the Centre’s statements about its efforts to make the cheetah project a success. The court said the project was better left to the wisdom of experts in the field rather than the judiciary.
‘Natural causes’
A recent affidavit by the Environment Ministry and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had informed the Supreme Court that a provisional diagnosis of the cheetahs at KNP “points towards natural causes”.
The government and the NTCA had said the mortalities though troubling and in need of redressal and curtailment, were not unduly alarming.
The government said the big cats had low survival rates — 50%, even in adults. In an “introduced population” of cheetahs, cubs have about 10% survival.
Two batches of cheetahs, eight from Namibia and 12 from South Africa, were translocated to the KNP in September 2022 and February 2023. Fourteen adult cheetahs and one Indian-born cub survive as of date. Six adult cheetahs and three cubs were reported dead in Kuno. The cubs were found “severely dehydrated and underweight”.
The Supreme Court, on July 20, had remarked that the deaths of 40% of the 20 cheetahs did not present a good picture.
The affidavit had, however, assured that steps had been taken to ensure the well-being of the surviving cheetahs, including their capture and administration of critical medical examination. Thirteen adults and one cub have already been captured and treated.
According to an action plan, the government and the NTCA intend to introduce 12-14 cheetahs annually from African countries for the next five years. This would depend on the availability of the big cats from these countries as well as the status of habitat, prey-base and protection mechanism on the ground.
The court had earlier urged the government to move the big cats to a more conducive environment, if required, and not make it a “prestige issue”.
