Bhopal/IBNS: A cheetah died in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon, marking it the 10th such death since their reintroduction in India in 2022.

An official statement said that the Namibian cheetah was named Shaurya, and the cause of death would be known after the post-mortem.

So far, seven adults and three cubs have died at the national park - deaths that have been attributed to various infections.

"Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3:17 PM, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 AM in the morning, incoordination and staggering gait was observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilized and weakness was found," according to a statement by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Director, Lion Project.

"Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post-revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after post mortem," it said.

The last and the ninth cheetah death in Kuno was reported on August 2 last year.

As per the government statement, infections caused by insects during monsoon season caused the last two deaths.

Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952. As many as 20 adult big cats were brought from abroad to Kuno Park in 2022.

The cheetahs were imported in two batches - from Namibia (2022) and South Africa (2023).