A national park in India’s Madhya Pradesh state lost three cheetah cubs this week.
READ: Ramaphosa approves MOU with India to send 12 South African cheetahs
CNN reports that their mother ‘Siyaya gave birth to the cubs more than 70 years after cheetahs were declared extinct in India. It took a multi-step journey to get her and seven other cats from Namibia, on Africa’s southwestern coast, to central India.’ A further 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa.
The litter of four was born in late March and was a cause for celebration.
READ: Namibian cheetah gives birth to 4 cubs in India’s Kuno National Park
However, when temperatures reached 47ºC on Tuesday, the cubs did not appear to be in ‘normal condition,’ park authorities told the BBC.
The first cub died on Tuesday morning, 23 May, and over the next two days two more ‘cubs succumbed to heat, dehydration, and weakness.’
The last remaining cub is currently being treated.
READ: Second cheetah from India’s Reintroduction Plan passes away
Chief conservator of the Forest Department of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, JS Chauhan said ‘its condition was also not very good, but after treatment, the cub is looking much better, though the cub is underweight and a bit weak. Both the mother and her remaining cub continue to remain under observation.’
Six cheetahs have since died since being translocated to India.
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