‘Rockstar’ cheetah dies at Kuno National Park, tenth death in last ten months

BHOPAL: Thirteen days after three cubs were born to Namibian cheetah Aasha at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP), an adult Namibian male cheetah Shaurya died at the park on Tuesday.

The death of Shaurya, which was among the cheetahs flown from Namibia on PM Narendra Modi’s 72nd birthday in 2022, means that since March 2023 — when the first death of a cheetah Sasha was reported due to chronic renal failure — seven adults and three cubs have died at the KNP.

According to the official statement released by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) and Director Lion Project, “Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3:17 PM, Namibian cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 AM in the morning, incoordination and staggering gait was observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilized and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after post mortem.”

Shaurya and sibling Gaurav — originally known as Rockstars Freddy and Elton — were among the two male sibling coalitions (Agni and Vayu or the White Walkers being the other) which formed the first batch of Namibian cheetahs flown in to India on September 17, 2022. The eight cheetahs were released into the KNP in Sheopur district by PM Narendra Modi, marking the unveiling of perhaps the first inter-continental translocation project to reintroduce cheetahs in the Indian wilds, from where the fastest moving animal on earth went extinct seven decades ago.

Shaurya and Gaurav were housed in one big enclosure and the KNP management now has a tough task to manage the other sibling Gaurav aka Elton in Shaurya’s absence.