Bhopal: Cheetahs in Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh have been immunised to protect them against any fatal infection due to the onset of monsoon.
A special kind of ointment, Anti Ecto Parasite drug, has been procured from South Africa to apply in the adult cheetahs who have developed fur to prevent them being infected in the rainy season, KNP field director Uttam Sharma told this newspaper on Sunday.
“This is a proactive measure undertaken to protect the cheetahs in KNP against infection in the rainy season in the wake of three cheetahs in the park succumbing to septicaemia, a deadly bacterial infection, last year”, Mr Sharma added.
African cheetahs develop thick fur when they gain adulthood. The rain dampens the fur of the felines. The cheetahs rub the particular area with a hard surface to get relief, which leaves them wounded. The blood that oozes out of the wound attracts flies which lay eggs on the wound, leading to the maggot infection.
The cheetah dies within 48 hours of developing septicaemia. This had happened to three cheetahs in KNP Last year, a forest officer in the park said.
The African cheetahs grow fur in the months of June, July-August. “The imported ointment has been applied to all the 13 adult cheetahs in the park after their tranquilisation”, Mr Sharma said. The effect of the anti-maggot infection medicine lasts three to four months.
“The death of three cheetahs due to septicaemia last year has alerted us to take proactive measures with the onset of monsoon to safeguard the remaining cheetah population in KNP” , a forest officer of the park said.
Eight cheetahs were trans-located from Namibia to KNP in the first ever intercontinental translocation of carnivores in September, 2022. Four months later, 12 more cheetahs were brought to KNP from South Africa.
Two female cheetahs meanwhile have given birth to cubs. Ten cheetahs including some cubs died due to various reasons. The cheetah population in KNP currently stands at 26 which indicates the success of the maiden cheetah introduction project in India, the experts say. Cheetah was officially declared extinct in India in 1952.
