India wants to acquire cheetahs without the thicker winter coats that are a major cause of the serious infections in certain cheetahs and the deaths of three of them in Kuno.

According to officials, India is considering importing cheetahs from northern Africa due to worries that some of these huge cats from Namibia and South Africa had grown a winter coat during the country's summer.

Challenges due to the Indian Climate

According to officials, one of the main difficulties encountered in the first year of handling cheetahs in India was the unexpected development of winter coats by certain throughout the Indian summer and monsoon, in preparation of the African winter (June to September).

A top forest official claimed that even African experts were unaware of it.

The animals scratched their necks on tree trunks or the ground because of their itchy winter coats, which were brought on by the high humidity and temperatures. The official said that as a result, there were bumps and exposed skin where flies placed their eggs, which caused maggot infestations, bacterial infections, and septicemia in the end, which caused the deaths of three cheetahs.

Cheetahs in this part of Africa

"Cheetahs in northern and northeastern Africa, which is in the northern hemisphere, might be better suited to Indian conditions. This idea is being deliberated, but we are yet to examine the status of the in this part of Africa. We need to look at their populations, health conditions, breeding cycle, etc," on condition of anonymity, an official for the project cheetah said.

It have been transported from northern Africa by a number of international experts, including those in the UK and the US. According to the official, they have suggested that India follow suit.

The Environment Ministry's Additional Director General (Forests) and Project Cheetah leader SP Yadav stated: "The idea that we may have cheetahs from northern Africa in the future has been discussed, but the next batch will come from South Africa."

According to him, India intends to acquire cheetahs without the thicker winter coats that are a major cause of the severe infections that some have and the deaths of three of them.

Cheetahs were once common in some areas of northern Africa, but due to a sharp drop in their numbers, many of these nations now consider them to be extinct or very close to being extinct.

The few cheetahs that are still alive in northern Africa can currently be found mostly in small, secluded groups in protected regions and national parks. Cheetahs can still be found, albeit in less numbers, in Algeria, Egypt, Niger, and Mali, among other places. In two separate shipments, one in September of last year and the other in February of this year, Kuno received a total of 20 animals from Namibia and South Africa.

Six of these adult cheetahs have passed away since March for a variety of causes.

Three of the four pups that a female Namibian cheetah gave birth to died in May from the heat. The last cub is being nurtured by humans to become a future wild animal.

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