Cheetah deaths at Kuno: 2 of 4 experts never consented on letter to SC

Two cheetah experts out of the four whose names were mentioned in a letter sent to the Supreme Court, claiming the Centre ignored their advice over deaths of feline at Kuno National Park, said their names were used without their consent.

The communication on behalf of the two experts — Vincent Var Der Merwe and Andy Frasier — was produced by the Centre in its response filed before the Supreme Court three days ago.

The email communication addressed by Merwe on July 20 to MK Ranjitsinh, the head of the committee formed by the Supreme Court to assist with the implementation of Project Cheetah, said, “Please know that Dr Andy Frasier and I were not supportive of this letter being sent to the top court. We are surprised to see our names reflecting.”

Besides the names of Merwe and Frasier, the letter also contained the names of two other experts – Adrian Tordiffe and Mike Toft. The Court too had expressed concern over the death of five adult cheetahs and three cubs at Kuno and had suggested Centre to consider shifting out some of the remaining 15 adult cheetahs to an alternate site.

On Wednesday, another female adult cheetah was reported dead at Kuno taking the death toll to nine.

Referring to this communication, the Centre told the Court that using the names of experts without their consent in such a sensitive project can be detrimental to the bilateral ties between India and South Africa. However, the Centre said since the present matter is not adversarial, the views contained in the letter filed by Ranjitsinh will be placed before the 15-member steering committee implementing Project Cheetah.

The cheetahs were declared extinct from the country in 1952 and were transported in two batches in September 2022 from Namibia and in February this year from South Africa.

The Supreme Court in 2020 allowed for the re-introduction of cheetahs at Kuno when a committee headed by Ranjitsinh was formed to assist with the successful implementation of Project Cheetah.

The Ranjitsinh committee had on several occasions in the past highlighted that the steering committee formed by the Centre did not have any cheetah experts.

So far, six adult cheetahs have died in Kuno since the translocation of 20 big cats in two batches from Namibia and South Africa in September last year and February 2023, respectively. Besides, three of the four cubs born in India have also died.