Two more cheetahs, Tajas and Suraj, died in Kuno National Park, India last week.
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Tajas was found with injuries from suspected infighting and passed away soon after. Two days later, another male, Suraj, was found dead on the morning of 14 July in the park. The death of these two cats takes the number of cheetah deaths in Kuno National Park to eight in four months.
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Veterinarian doctors and wildlife experts are theorising the cause of so many deaths. Some causes of death were unavoidable, such as mating injuries and cardiac failure brought on by stress.
The BBC was informed that ‘the last two deaths were caused by maggot infestations following skin infections. And they say one of the reasons could be the radio collars that the animals are made to wear for their own protection.’
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India’s Environment and Forests Ministry has strongly rejected this theory, insisting that all deaths were caused by natural reasons. In their statement, they said that ‘reports blaming radio collars were speculative and lacking in scientific evidence.’
Further, Jasbir Singh Chauhan, the top wildlife official at Kuno National Park, has been removed following Suraj’s death.
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