A male cheetah attacked Daksha during mating leading to her death
Twenty big cats were brought to the party, but now, 17 are left, besides four cubs
Bhopal: Female South African cheetah, Daksha, will not purr any more. Nor will she pounce upon her prey at Kuno National park in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh.
She died, because of a probable attack by her male counterpart during mating. A male cheetah going violent during mating is a common phenomenon.
The Kuno National Park has so far lost three cheetahs in the past one and a half months. They are one Namibian and two South African cheetahs. The reasons are several.
Officials of the Cheetah project said the Kuno’s monitoring had found Daksha lying in an injured state in enclosure number one.
Veterinary doctors were called to the spot to treat her, but Daksha could not be saved.
According to forest officials, Dakaha may have died because of an attack by her male counterpart during mating.
Nevertheless, the forest department’s team cannot do anything, the officials said.
At a meeting with wildlife experts on April 30, the Kuno park authorities decided that male cheetahs Agni and Vayu (kept inside enclosure number 7) should be allowed to mingle with Dakha.
Accordingly, the gate between enclosure number 7 and 1 was opened on May 1. It was on May 6 that male cheetahs entered enclosure number 1 from enclosure number 7.
There were 20 cheetahs in the national park. Female Namibian cheetah Sasha died because of renal failure in March. A male cheetah, Uday, died a mysterious death in the last week of April.
After the death of Daksha, Kuno is left with 17 cheetahs, besides four cubs of Siyaya.