SC concerned over rising cheetah deaths, says it does not present good picture
New Delhi (PTI): The death of 40 per cent of cheetah translocated from South Africa and Namibia to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in less than one year doesn't present a "good picture", the Supreme Court said on Thursday, and asked the Centre to not make it a prestige issue and explore the possibility of shifting the animals to different sanctuaries.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Prashant Kumar Mishra, while voicing concern over the deaths of the feline, asked the Centre to file a detailed affidavit explaining the reasons and remedial measures taken.
"What is the problem? Is the climate not suited or is there anything else. Eight deaths have happened out of 20 Cheetah. Last week there were two deaths. Why don't you explore the possibility of transferring them to different sanctuaries? Why are you making it a prestige issue?
"Please take some positive steps. You should look for possibilities of transferring them to other sanctuaries irrespective of whatever state or government is instead of putting them at one place," the bench told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who was representing the Centre.
Bhati said the Centre was about to file an affidavit explaining the reasons for the death of the animals and sought an opportunity to submit a detailed affidavit describing the circumstances surrounding each cheetah death.
The government law officer also said the authorities are exploring all possibilities including transferring them to other sanctuaries.
"These eight deaths of cheetah are unfortunate but expected. There were several reasons behind these deaths," the lawyer told the court.
She said it was a prestigious project for the country and authorities are taking all necessary steps to prevent more deaths.
"If the project was so prestigious for the country then 40 per cent deaths of cheetah in less than a year does not present a good picture," the bench said responding to Bhati's assertions.
Senior advocate PC Sen presented some suggestions put forth by experts to prevent the cheetah deaths in KNP.
The bench asked Sen to submit the suggestions to Bhati and asked her to file a response by July 28-29, and listed the matter for August 1.
On July 14, a male cheetah named Suraj, translocated from South Africa, died at KNP, taking the total number of cheetah deaths at the park in Sheopur district since March this year to eight. Another male cheetah, Tejas, brought to KNP from South Africa in February this year had died on July 11.
Besides the death of these two felines, six cheetah, including three cubs born to Namibian cheetah 'Jwala', have died at the national park since March, in a setback to the reintroduction programme launched with much fanfare in September last year.
The top court had on May 18 expressed serious concern over the cheetah deaths at KNP and asked the Centre to rise above politics and consider shifting them to Rajasthan.
It had told the government that from reports of experts and articles, it appears that KNP is not sufficient to accomodate such a large number of cheetah and the union government may consider shifting the animals that went extinct from the country in 1947-48 to other sanctuaries.
The central government had told the court that along with the state government it had arranged for exchange visits, study tours, capacity building and training programmes with African countries as a result of which a significant number of forest officials and veterinarians have been trained and have experience of working with African wildlife species including cheetah.
Some of these officials and veterinarians are actively involved in implementation of Project Cheetah in India, it had said.
The top court is hearing an application filed by the Centre seeking direction from the court that it is no longer necessary for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to continue taking guidance and advice of the expert committee appointed by the apex court through an order dated January 28, 2020.
The top court had said the three-member panel comprising former director of wildlife protection M K Ranjit Sinh, chief conservator of forests, wildlife administration in Uttarakhand Dhananjai Mohan and DIG (Wildlife) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will guide the NTCA in the introduction of African cheetah in India.
On March 28, a day after the first death of cheetah at Kuno, the top court had sought details of experts in the Cheetah Task Force such as their qualification and experience.
The Centre had said in its application that according to the action plan for cheetah introduction in India, annually 8-14 big cats are required to be brought in from African countries at least for the next five years, and a memorandum of understanding to that effect has been signed by the government of India with Namibia and South Africa.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maldivian military diver dead while searching for bodies of four Italian divers
Colombo (AP): A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave.
The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 metres in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy's Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 metres.
Maldives Presidential Spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef said that Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defence Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.
“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” he said.
Earlier, Shareef said the searchers had prepared a plan based on their progress exploring the cave on Friday. Mahudhee was part of the group that briefed Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.
The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home. His ministry stated it was coordinating with Divers Alert Network, a specialist diving organisation, to support recovery operations and the repatriation of the bodies. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.
Benedetti's body was recovered on Thursday.
Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said in a statement Friday. However, the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately,” it said.
The statement also said the two other victims — student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri — were not involved in the scientific mission.
Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialised training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor.
Experts say it's easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.
Diving at 50 metres also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 metres considered technical diving and requiring specialised training and equipment.
Shareef said Benedetti's body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.
Two Italians, a deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert, are expected to join the recovery effort, Shareef said.
Italian officials said that around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard the vessel “Duke of York” were safe. Italy's embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.
The Maldives tourism ministry said it has suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation.
The Italian foreign ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.
On Saturday, they will explore the third chamber, the ministry added.
Italian officials and the honourary consul are in contact with the victims' families to provide assistance.
