Are radio collars responsible for the death of cheetahs in Kuno

[ad_1]

“Extreme humidity conditions cause radio collars to create infection (in cheetahs),” Vincent van der Merwe, a South African cheetah metapopulation expert, said last week. But the Indian government has something else to say. What is the controversy and theory behind the use of radio collars?

The death of eight cheetahs in four months has led to theories that “radio collars” are a possible reason for their deaths. Even though the government has refuted reports attributing the deaths to factors such as radio collars, an Indian Express report quoted wildlife authorities as suggesting the removal of radio collars from 10 free-ranging cheetahs at Kuno National Park. (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh.

“We will be removing their radio-collars… We cannot say how long it would take to remove the collars from free-roaming cheetahs, but ideally we should remove their collars and monitor them all. said officials cited by the report.

A radio collar with an attached radio transmitter and a GPS device is put on an animal so that its movements in its natural habitat can be monitored remotely.

Are Radio Collars Lethal to Cheetahs?

“The radio collar is not the fatal problem, (but) it can be a contributing factor and it needs to be addressed,” JS Chauhan, Madhya Pradesh Senior Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) told The Indian Express. . He added that a bacterial infection can break out because of the radio collar during the monsoon.

“It could also be one of the reasons why the cheetahs died,” he said. He, however, called for “a thorough examination to see if there are other causes”.

Some statements about the possible effects of the radio collar

The chairman of the Cheetah Task Force said last week that Suraj, the three-year-old cheetah found dead in Madhya Pradesh on Friday July 14, died of sepsis caused by skin irritations from his radio collar. Suraj was transferred from South Africa to the KNP in February this year.

Sepsis refers to blood poisoning by bacteria, “which resulted from radio collars worn around the neck in the prevailing humid conditions,” said Vincent van der Merwe, a South African cheetah metapopulation expert.

Rajesh Gopal, the head of the cheetah project steering committee, also said that the reason for the death of the cheetahs could be sepsis due to the use of a radio collar. He said it’s possible that aberrations like wet weather could lead to infection from radio collar use.

While calling the condition ‘very unusual’, he said, ‘the radio collar caused an abrasion of the skin, which led to the maggots infesting Suraj. Her condition worsened due to the conditions wet and humid weather, resulting in the spread of a strong infection in his body and sepsis, which is the rarest of the rare in cats.”

“I also saw it for the first time. It is cause for concern and we have ordered (MP forestry staff) to check all cheetahs,” he added. Meanwhile, other experts, said only the post-mortem report will determine the exact cause.

“Hearsay without scientific evidence”

After the information became public, the Ministry of Environment said five of the 20 adult cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa had died of natural causes. He added that media reports attributing the deaths to factors such as radio collars were based on “speculation and hearsay without scientific evidence”.

The ministry said consultations were underway with international cheetah experts and veterinarians from South Africa and Namibia to investigate the cause of the cheetahs’ death.

In a statement issued on Sunday July 16, the ministry also said that several measures are planned to support the cheetah project, including the establishment of a cheetah research center with facilities for rescue, rehabilitation, reinforcement skills and interpretation.

Eight cheetahs die in four months

Previously, three cubs and three cheetahs had died in the space of two months. Those three adult cheetahs included Sasha, a female cheetah who died March 27 from kidney complications. After her, the male cheetah Uday died of heart failure on April 24. On May 9, another female named Daksha died following a fight with another male during mating.

The cubs “were malnourished from birth itself, while other deaths were due to fights during mating or feeding, which is common in animals,” officials told PTI.

How common are deaths from radio collars?

In 2020, wildlife experts blamed radio collars for the death of one of Gujarat’s four Asiatic lions in a year. According to a Times of India report, 19 out of 89 lions, which were fitted with radio collars, had died within a year. This includes 14 lions that were fitted with the tracking device in July 2019, according to the report.

However, he quoted wildlife experts working in the Gir forest as saying the death toll from radio-collared lions could be higher.

The report had also quoted experts as saying that carrying the radio collars, which weigh 1.5kg, can be both uncomfortable and deadly for lions.

Even then, few officials called the claims “baseless.”

The Cheetah Translocation Project

Eight Namibian cheetahs, five females and three males, were released into enclosures at KNP on September 17 last year in a high-profile event attended by Prime Minister Modi. In February this year, another 12 cheetahs arrived at KNP from South Africa.

The birth of four cubs had brought the total number of cheetahs to 24, but eight deaths brought it down to 16.

Currently, 11 cheetahs are on the loose, while five, including a cub born in India, are in a quarantine enclosure.

Causes of mortality can include intraspecific fighting, disease, accidents before and after release, injuries while hunting, poaching, road accidents, poisoning, and attacks by other predators.

Each free-roaming cheetah is closely monitored by a dedicated team. The ministry said the reintroduction of cheetahs is an important project that is expected to face challenges.

He cited global experience, particularly in South Africa, where initial reintroductions resulted in more than 50% mortality among introduced cheetahs.

The Cheetah Project Action Plan includes provisions for annual supplementation of the original founder population to manage the demographic and genetic makeup of the reintroduced population.

(Edited by: Shoma Bhattacharjee)

[ad_2]