Preliminary autopsy suggests cheetah died of cardiopulmonary failure; samples sent for forensic test

The Madhya Pradesh forest department has sent samples of the cheetah’s blood, kidneys, lungs and heart to the School of Wildlife Forensic and Health in Jabalpur for further examination.

“The initial autopsy carried out by the team of vets has found cardiopulmonary failure. The Jabalpur institute will carry out a more detailed examination only after which we will get to know what caused the pulmonary failure,’’ Madhya Pradesh Chief Wildlife Warden J S Chauhan told The Indian Express.

This is the second cheetah death in Kuno park since September last year when the first batch of African cheetahs was translocated to India. The first death occurred on March 27 when a Namibian cheetah, Sasha, died of kidney complications.

Prof Tordiffe said the symptoms point to a condition called botulism, a rare but serious condition which is caused when a toxin attacks the body’s nervous system, eventually causing paralysis. The toxin is released by the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria, a bacteria that is used medically to produce botox.

“I haven’t visited Kuno yet. After speaking to the team of vets, at this stage it looks like a case of severe neurotoxins, most likely the botulim toxin, released by bacteria. This toxin is often found in rotting meat. While the condition is very rare, it has been seen among animals in South Africa. This condition happens when an animal or bird dies and its carcass is in a pool of water where the toxin is released. Other animals drinking this water can get this condition. My assessment at this stage is that the cheetah ingested either an old carcass, or drank from a pool of water where there was a dead animal or bird. The toxin causes paralysis of the nerves, the animal becomes weak, can’t stand up properly and can’t even lift its head because the toxin has paralysed its neck muscles – signs that we saw in this cheetah,’’ said Prof Tordiffe.

He added that the cardiopulmonary failure also points to a case of botulism as the nerves would not be functioning properly to pump the heart and the cheetah’s lungs would also be affected.

“We will get to know more after the detailed examination is done. Nevertheless, botulism is a very difficult disease to detect and we are often unable to do so in South Africa as well. In this case, there is literally nothing that the authorities could have done to prevent it. When you have a wildlife conservation project, to expect a 100% survival rate is ridiculous. There will be some deaths – that is the natural order of things and the process of natural selection. Some animals will adapt quickly, while others will not. This is the reason why 20 cheetahs were brought to begin with. If some die, a meta-population could still be established. Having said that, we have rarely seen this disease in cheetahs, although we have seen it in lions in South Africa. This cheetah death was a rare, unusual, random event which could not have been prevented,’’ said Prof Tordiffe.

He said the African cheetahs have so far been doing well, with three of them having already established their territories in Kuno park.

Eight Namibian cheetahs were brought and released into Kuno in September last year; 12 from South Africa were translocated by the Indian government on February 18 this year.

The South African cheetahs had completed their quarantine period and had been released into the larger 6 sqkm enclosure built at Kuno just a week ago.

In the first-of-its-kind animal translocation from one continent to another, the African cheetahs flew over 8,000 km to reach India, which plans to establish a viable population of at least 40-45 cheetahs over the coming 5-10 years.