"We Take Responsibility": Environment Minister On Cheetah Deaths

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first batch of eight spotted felines from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 last year.

With three cheetahs and as many cubs dying at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in three months, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav Thursday said, "We take responsibility for whatever happened", but asserted that the translocation project will be a major success.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first batch of eight spotted felines from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno in Madhya Pradesh on September 17 last year. In a second such translocation, 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released into Kuno on February 18.

Three cheetahs died in March and April. Of the 17 remaining adult cheetahs, seven have already been released into the wild. The death of three adult cheetahs and three of the four cubs born to a female Namibian cheetah, Sisaya, has prompted questions from several experts on the suitability of the habitat and wildlife management.

"It's an international project and we had anticipated mortality. It's mentioned in our report too (cheetah introduction action plan). One of the cheetahs was unwell before it even came to India. We have provided the reasons for the deaths of the two other (adult) cheetahs.