Environment & Ecology Preliminary Analysis of Cheetah Mortalities at Kuno National Park Point to Natural Causes: NTCA As per National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Global experience suggests that initial phase of reintroduction of Cheetah in African countries has resulted in more than 50% mortality of introduced Cheetahs. Mortality may happen due to intra-species fights, diseases, injury caused during hunting of prey, poaching, road hits, poisoning and predatory attack by other predators etc. NTCA A statutory body under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is entrusted with implementation of Project Cheetah. Project Cheetah A total of 20 radio collared Cheetahs were brought from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno National Park (KNP), Madhya Pradesh, in a first ever transcontinental wild to wild translocation. Challenges Having cheetahs for extended periods in quarantine may affect their adaptive capabilities and cause them to have psychological adjustment problems, making them more vulnerable. Unlike tigers and leopards, cheetahs are relatively delicate animals and are more likely to be fatally injured in the wild. Lack of space and prey at KNP, given that Cheetah is a courser and needs large distances. Cheetah World’s fastest mammal, is a keystone species (organism that helps define an entire ecosystem) of dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs. Protected under Appendix 1 of CITES. IUCN status: African Cheetah -Vulnerable Asiatic Cheetah - Critically endangered
