Number of Cheetah deaths in Kuno not low: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday stressed that number of deaths of the African cheetahs at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh is not low, notwithstanding the accuracy of media reports on this issue. [Centre for Environment Law WWF `vs Union of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and ors].A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra pointed out that even the general public was concerned with recent developments at Kuno.Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Central government, said that the translocation project was one-of-a-kind and there was nothing 'alarming' as of now."Some of the media reports are not accurate. We are mulling releasing updates on our own. But we have to embark on the project balancing ecological concerns," Bhati submitted. Justice Narasimha then remarked, "But the number of deaths is not low." The ASG then argued that amid the negative media publicity, it is important to note what has been achieved with great responsibility and consultation."All that is fine but general public is concerned about what is being done about these deaths. That is important," Justice Narasimha orally responded.The ASG then explained that the spike in death numbers was because of the fact the figures included the the deaths of cubs born to one of the cheetahs. She added that because the cubs were initially kept in a den outside of any external supervision, they developed infections on being exposed to Indian conditions. "All that is a consequence. We are on something else. What needs to be done now? The sum of substance of your submissions is everything is alright?" Justice Narasimha asked. "No, my lords. But we are consulting experts and responding to new situations and taking all steps ... Even 50% (survival rate) would work. The effort was not targeted at cubs, but for the cheetahs to be acclimatized to conditions here. The project is progressing well. We will address with data on the factually incorrect media reports," Bhati replied. .Twenty cheetahs were translocated to India's Kuno National Park from Namibia and South Africa in September 2022, as part of efforts to revive the cheetah population in India.As per media reports, eight cheetahs including three cubs have died since March this year. These deaths have been attributed to various infections as well as fights amongst these animals..The bench today adjourned the matter after hearing the ASG and a counsel for one of the foreign experts..Last month, the Court had asked the Central government why all the cheetahs translocated from Namibia and South Africa were only sent to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. A bench led by Justice Gavai had lamented that the number of cheetah deaths in such a short span painted a worrying picture of the state of affairs.The Court had orally suggested that some of the animals could be shifted to Rajasthan.