As two cheetahs die, officials say they're following South African protocols

The death of two adult cheetahs - Tejas and Suraj - within one week at the Kuno National Park (KNP) of Madhya Pradesh has once again led to a debate over the world's first intercontinental translocation through "Project Cheetah".

A couple of Madhya Pradesh-based wildlife officials with decades of experience speaking to IANS maintained that "it is too early to draw any conclusion about Project Cheetah and their survival in India."

They were also of the view that forest officials and veterinarians associated with the Kuno cheetah project are just following the instructions regarding protocols received from South African wildlife experts and veterinarians.

It is also learnt that wildlife experts are learning the behaviour and nature of African and Namibian cheetahs brought to India as they are familiar with tigers and many other wild animals but not cheetahs.