BHOPAL: A milestone for India’s cheetah reintroduction project turned tragic less than a day after celebrations, when a 10-month-old cub was found dead in Kuno National Park in MP Friday afternoon.The cub, released into the Parond range on Dec 4 along with its mother Veera and sibling, appears to have been separated from them during the night, officials said.The release by CM Mohan Yadav during an International Cheetah Day event had been hailed as “historic”.Veera, who was brought from South Africa in early 2024, gave birth to the two cubs in Feb 2025. Their release was seen as a significant conservation step, increasing the number of free-ranging cheetahs in Kuno.However, the celebration quickly gave way to concern when trackers lost the cub’s radio-collar signal Thursday night. “We lost the signal after dark. When telemetry picked up movement again Friday, the animal was already dead,” a field official said. The carcass was recovered without any visible injuries.“The exact cause of death will be known only after the autopsy is conducted,” state’s chief wildlife warden Shubranjan Sen told TOI, adding that Veera and her remaining cub are together and doing well.Officials said a dedicated team of wildlife veterinarians, radio-tracking experts and field staff are maintaining round-the-clock surveillance on the released animals.
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