Namibian Cheetah Pawan dies, how many cheetahs now left in India?

Madhya Pradesh forest officials confirmed on Tuesday that another cheetah, named Pavan, has died, marking the eighth fatality among the 20 cheetahs brought from South Africa and Namibia to India. The death is unusual, as it appears to have been caused by drowning.

According to a press note from forest officials, Pavan was found near the edge of a rain-swollen nallah, motionless among the bushes. Veterinarians found the cheetah's front half, including its head, submerged in the water, with no visible external injuries. "The preliminary cause of death seems to be drowning," the statement noted, pending the postmortem report.

Before being released into the wild, Pavan (formerly known as Oban) was kept in an acclimatization enclosure after straying out twice. He was eventually released into the free-ranging area of Kuno National Park, as reported by TOI.

As of January 2024, Kuno National Park has seven adult cheetahs from Africa and three cubs. The plan is to bring the total number of African cheetahs in Kuno to 40. This comes as a result of the ambitious ‘Project Cheetah’ reintroduction programme, which completed its first year on September 17, 2023.

Number of Cheetahs in India in 2024?

As of 2024, India is home to 10 Cheetahs, of which seven are adult cheetahs and three cubs from Africa. A government initiative called "Project Cheetah" has brought back the cheetah, which was once extinct in India.

The project brought 12 cheetahs from South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The goal of the project is to create a stable cheetah population in India. This will allow the cheetah to reclaim its role as a top predator, increase its historical range, and help global conservation efforts.

On September 17, 2022, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia, and 12 from South Africa on February 18, 2023. In March 2023, a female cheetah gave birth to four cubs in India, but three of them died from dehydration and weakness.

Gamini, an African cheetah, gave birth to six cubs in March this year, but sadly, one of them passed away on June 4 and another on August 5. The remaining 13 adult cheetahs and 11 cubs are currently healthy and in normal condition. According to the release, the adult cheetahs have received the necessary treatments to prevent tick and other parasitic infections. All cheetahs are being monitored regularly to ensure their well-being.

During routine monitoring on July 29, the five-month-old cub that later died was found unable to lift the hind portion of its body.

"Upon closer observation, the cub was seen dragging its entire hind portion," an unnamed wildlife official told PTI. "The cub was immediately rescued and brought to the hospital, where it was discovered that its vertebral column was fractured."

Journey of Cheetah Reintroduction in India

Soon after confirming that cheetahs had become extinct in the country in the 1950s, discussions began about bringing them back to India. There were plans to bring cheetahs from Iran in the 1970s, but due to political instability in Iran, these plans didn’t work out. In the 1980s, Kenya offered to send African cheetahs to India.

In 2009, the Indian government proposed introducing African cheetahs to India, but the Supreme Court rejected the proposal. However, in early 2020, the court reversed its decision and permitted the introduction of a small number of cheetahs to India on a trial basis to evaluate their long-term adaptation.

On September 17, 2022, they released eight cheetahs from Namibia, aged between four and six years, into a small quarantined area within Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. They fitted these cheetahs with radio collars, and they will stay in the quarantined area for a month. They will release the males first and then the females into the larger park area.

Yadvendradev V. Jhala from the Wildlife Institute of India and Laurie Marker, a zoologist from the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, supervised the relocation process. Later, they will release 12 more cheetahs from South Africa in Kuno, aiming to increase the total number of African cheetahs in Kuno to 40.

Unfortunately, as of January 16, 2024, seven adult cheetahs and three cubs (out of four born in Kuno two months earlier) had died in Kuno National Park.

Timeline of Cheetah in India

Date	Event	Details
March 11, 2023	Release of Cheetahs Oban and Aasha in Kuno National Park, MP, India	Successful hunting confirmed
March 22, 2023	Release of Cheetahs Elton and Freddie	Total cheetahs in the wild: four
March 24, 2023	Siyaya gives birth to four cubs
April 2, 2023	Oban escapes but is safely returned
April 24, 2023	Death of Cheetah Uday	Cause: Heart failure
May 9, 2023	Death of Cheetah Daksha	Cause: Fight during mating
May 18, 2023	Supreme Court orders spreading of cheetahs	Criticizes concentration
May 19, 2023	Release of Cheetahs Agni, Vayu, and Gamini	Total cheetahs: six
May 23, 2023	Death of a cheetah cub	Cause: Weakness
May 25, 2023	Death of two more cheetah cubs	Cause: Heat and weakness
May 25, 2023	Appointment of a new committee	Following the death of three cubs
May 28, 2023	Release of Cheetah Neerva	Total cheetahs: seven
July 14, 2023	Death of Cheetah Suraj	Eighth death in five months
August 2, 2023	Death of Female Cheetah Tiblisi/Dhatri	Cause: Maggot infection, ninth death
January 3, 2024	Aasha gives birth to three cubs
January 16, 2024	Death of Male Cheetah Shaurya	Total deaths: 10, cause unknown
June, 4, 2024	Cubs born to South African cheetah 'Gamini' dead at the Kuno National Park	weakness
August 6, 2024	Death of a five-month-old cheetah cub	Reported by PTI, cause to be determined
August 27, 2024	Namibian Cheetah 'Pawan' Dies At Kuno National Park	The death is unusual, as it appears to have been caused by drowning.

Declining Cheetah Population

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) reported a significant decline in the global cheetah population. The population dropped from an estimated 15,000 adults in 1975 to fewer than 7,000 in 2023.

According to the National Geographic Society, human activities threaten cheetahs by encroaching on their habitat. Cheetahs are also at risk of contracting diseases spread by domestic cats. Other factors contributing to their decline include climate change, hunting, and low reproductive success.

Future Projects

In April, the Madhya Pradesh forest department requested an alternative site from the Centre after two cheetah deaths, citing "lack of logistical support and space" as key issues.

In June last year, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav confirmed that Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in northwestern Madhya Pradesh had been identified as a potential alternative site, but no concrete plans had been made to relocate the cheetahs.