File photo. Cheetah released following its translocation from Namibia, in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India, September 17, 2022. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via Reuters.
New Delhi: An eight-year-old female Namibian cheetah died Saturday at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
The cheetah succumbed to her injuries that she sustained approximately a week ago, reportedly during a possible hunting attempt inside a soft-release boma (enclosure) at the KNP.
"Nabha, an eight-year-old Namibian female cheetah, died today... She had fractures in both the Ulna and the Fibula on the left side, along with other injuries.
She was under treatment for a week but succumbed to her injuries," said a statement issued by Uttam Sharma, the field director of Cheetah Project.
With the latest death, the KNP is now left with 26 cheetahs, including nine adults (six females and three males) and 17 cubs.
In September 2022, the Indian government reintroduced cheetahs in the country for the first time, decades after declaring them extinct from their Indian habitat.
Initially, eight cheetahs -- five females and three males -- were flown from Windhoek, Namibia, to Madhya Pradesh in a customised cargo plane and kept at KNP.
