All cheetahs will die due to mismanagement of BJP government: Ex-MP CM Kamal Nath

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 12 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh former Chief Minister and State Congress chief Kamal Nath on Wednesday slammed the BJP-led government and alleged that all cheetahs will die due to mismanagement of the state government.

Speaking about the recent death of a cheetah in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP), Kamal Nath said that no one including women, cheetahs or adivasis were safe under the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in the state.
“All cheetahs will die due to mismanagement of the BJP government. Be it women, be it cheetahs or be it adivasis, no one is safe in Madhya Pradesh,” said Kamal Nath.

Earlier today, Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Vijay Shah said that the recent death of a Cheetah in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park was a result of a natural occurrence in animals.

“I have spoken to the authorities as well and this is a natural occurrence in animals. A team of experts, including foreign experts, is monitoring each Cheetah,” said MP Forest Minister Vijay Shah.

Another Cheetah named Tejas brought to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park died on Monday due to injuries.

According to an official statement, injury marks were seen on the upper part of the neck of male cheetah Tejas (Boma number 6) by the monitoring team on Monday at around 11 am. This was informed by the monitoring team to the wildlife doctors present at the Palpur headquarters.

“Wildlife doctors went to the spot and inspected Tejas Cheetah and prima facie found the wounds serious. After obtaining permission to treat Tejas, the team of doctors left for Maukar with preparations,” it said.

The male cheetah Tejas was found dead at the spot around 2 pm. The injuries sustained by Cheetah Tejas are being probed. The cause of death can be ascertained after the post-mortem, it added.

Earlier on June 26, a translocated African cheetah was injured in a fight with other cheetahs at the Kuno National Park (KNP).

Agni, the male cheetah, sustained injuries following a skirmish between two groups of cheetahs at Kuno National Park’s open forest area.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the eight cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park on the occasion of his birthday on September 17, last year, as part of an effort to revive the extinct cheetahs in India. Another 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa in February this year.

The cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952.Under the ambitious Project Cheetah of the Indian government, the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs was undertaken according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.

India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures ‘Project Tiger’, which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem.