Two more cubs born to Namibian female cheetah Siyaya akka Jwala at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park have died, taking the toll of newly-born cubs to three, the state Forest Department said in a statement on Thursday.
In the statement, the Forest Department said after the death of first cub on May 23, the remaining three cubs were kept under close monitoring of veterinarians at Palpur.
"After afternoon hours (on May 23), the health condition of remaining three cubs was not good. Veterinarians tried their best, however, two of them could not be saved and they died. The heath condition of the fourth cub has also deteriorated and it is being treated by a team of veterinarians at Palpur," it said.
The Forest Department further stated that all cubs were found weak, had low weight, and suffered from high dehydration. "Namibian female cheetah Jwala is a hand-reared feline and had got pregnant very first time. All four newly-born cubs had started walking with their mother, but three of them died," the Forest Department added.
The latest fatality took the death toll of cheetahs in KNP to six in the last two months, including three felines translocated from African countries.
Cheetah Jwala, earlier known as Siyaya, was brought from Namibia to KNP in Sheopur district in September 2022. She gave birth to four cubs in the last week of March this year.
The four cubs were born within a week after the first Namibian cheetah died in March. Since then, this was the fourth cheetah to die at KNP since March this year.
A total 20 cheetahs were translocated to India in two phases - eight from Namibia on September 17, 2022, and 12 from South Africa on February 18 this year.