India's image being tarnished internationally: Akhilesh on cheetah deaths

A day after another cheetah died at the Kuno National Park, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said India's image is being tarnished at the international level due to this.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh forest department said a female cheetah was found dead in the morning and post-mortem examination was being conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

This is the ninth cheetah to die at Kuno since March.

In a tweet in Hindi, Yadav said, "Who is responsible for the death of the ninth cheetah at the Kuno National Park? Where are all those now who were busy promoting the event (release of cheetahs into Kuno National Park) as a symbol of the power of the BJP government?"

India's image is being tarnished at the international level due to this. The deaths of these cheetahs are being talked about in the countries from where they were brought, he said.

Under the much-vaunted Project Cheetah, a total of 20 animals were brought from Namibia and South Africa to Kuno in two batches -- one in September last year and the second in February this year.

Since March, six of these adult cheetahs have died due to various reasons. In May, three of the four cubs born to a female Namibian cheetah had also succumbed to extreme heat. The remaining cub is being hand-raised for future wildling.