Some of the countries where cheetahs are still found, though in smaller numbers, include Algeria, Egypt, Niger, and Mali.
Thapar had strong reservations about Project Cheetah, India's initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild. He argued that India does not have the necessary habitat or prey base to support free-ranging cheetahs and that the authorities lacked experience in managing spotted felines in the wild.
'At the moment, there are no challenges to the Cheetah Project. If there are any challenges in the future, these will be addressed as we go forward'
Shaurya was found not walking properly by the tracking team around 11 am after which the wild animal was tranquilised and efforts were made to revive the feline, but they failed, said the statement.
Oban, one of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia in September last year, strayed into the field near Baroda village, some 15-20 kilometres from KNP, from the free range area of the park into which he was released last month, Sheopur divisional forest officer (DFO) P K Verma told PTI.
How did the South African cheetahs make their way to India?
Environment ministry is organising various programmes at Sesaipura related to Project Cheetah.
In a statement, the ministry also said several steps have been planned to support the cheetah project, including the establishment of a Cheetah Research Center with facilities for rescue, rehabilitation, capacity building, and interpretation.
All forest officials and veterinarians are working very hard at the KNP, he said.
One more cheetah has died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, making it the sixth adult feline to have died since March, according to a statement from the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department on Wednesday.
Experts from South Africa and Namibia, who are helping reintroduce cheetahs in India, have recommended fencing their habitats to prevent poaching, habitat fragmentation and minimise human-animal conflict.
'The risks for injury and mortality will be increasing, and these risks are factored into the reintroduction plan'
As per the officials, the cubs which were born to a Namibian cheetah on March 24, died from apparent dehydration and weakness within the fenced area housing the mother and cubs.
He said the cheetahs are adapting to the weather and the habitat and establishing their territories and "we should give them time to do that".
Yadav's comments came amid concern expressed by some experts on the cheetah project and that some recent deaths could possibly be due to infection caused by radio collars though that is highly unusual and collars have been used in wildlife conservation in India for over two decades.
The central government's ambitious Project Cheetah is facing a major problem, with the animals translocated from South Africa developing a "winter cover", a thick coat of fur, in anticipation of African winter, the Supreme Court was told on Monday.
One more African cheetah died in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) on Tuesday due to suspected infighting, a senior forest department official said, the seventh feline fatality in four months.
Female cheetah 'Asha', one of the big cats translocated to India from Namibia, has wandered outside the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh once again, a forest official said on Friday.
These include Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh Bulge, Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary and enclosure of Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
'It's a natural phenomenon and there is nothing to worry about. But I must tell you that every cheetah which has been released in Kuno is monitored round the clock'
This is the second time this month that cheetah Oban has been tranquilised and brought back to the KNP after the feline wandered a long distance from the park.
The death of 40 per cent of cheetahs translocated from South Africa and Namibia to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in less than one year doesn't present a "good picture", the Supreme Court said on Thursday, and asked the Centre to not make it a prestige issue and explore the possibility of shifting the animals to different sanctuaries.
Notably, five adult cheetahs and three cubs have died at KNP in Sheopur district of the state since March this year.
Vincent van der Merwe cautioned that the reintroduction project is going to see even higher mortalities in the next few months when cheetahs try to establish territories and come face to face with leopards and tigers in the Kuno National Park.
Tejas, who was the seventh cheetah to die in four months at the KNP, was brought from South Africa in February this year and was about five-and-a-half years old.
Presently, the eight cheetahs at Kuno are killing a prey every three-four days and are in good health, officials said.
"Remaining cheetahs from this batch of eight will be released in the wild in a staggered manner," he said, without disclosing any timeline.
The Bengal Tiger, the Asiatic Lion and the more widespread leopard have had to swallow their pride. Rarely has the prime minister turned up in person, sun hat and camera at the ready, to welcome a member of the big cat family, notes Shyam G Menon.
A forest department official blamed the sweltering heat for the death of this cub's three siblings on Tuesday.
With this, six cheetahs have been released into the wild at the KNP so far. Now, 11 translocated felines and four cubs are left in the enclosures, he said.
The second batch 12 cheetahs was on Saturday brought to the KNP from South Africa. On September 17 last year, the first group of eight cheetahs from Namibia was released into the KNP at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the Army will be getting around 100 light utility helicopters, it is also looking at the option of taking choppers on lease to meet its requirement.
The incident is seen as a major setback for the ambitious 'Project Cheetah' under which 20 felines were translocated to KNP in Sheopur district from Namibia and South Africa in separate batches in September 2022 and February this year.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath asked the Centre to furnish details of the experts in the task force who specialise in cheetah management, their experience and qualification within two weeks.
A bench of justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol told the Centre that from reports of experts and articles, it appears that KNP does not seem to be sufficient for such large number of cheetahs and the Union government may consider shifting them to other sanctuaries.
The Centre has set up an 11-member high-level steering committee to review and monitor the progress of the cheetah reintroduction programme and provide suggestions on the opening of the cheetah habitat for eco-tourism.
A cheetah translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has given birth to four healthy cubs, officials said on Wednesday.
On a sweltering Sunday in Mullanpur, Virat Kohli reminded everyone why he's still the ultimate entertainer in the IPL.
The cheetahs will be kept under one-month quarantine as per the norms.
Suraj was found lying still in Palpur East Forest Range's Masavani beat by a monitoring team on Friday morning.
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