'Radio collar infection did not kill cheetahs'

Sheopur, NT Bureau: SP Yadav, the head of Project Cheetah, on Thursday rejected speculation that the deaths of the felines at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh could be linked to infection from radio collars, a media report said.

Since March, nine cheetahs have died, including three cubs born in India, after 20 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa and Namibia last year.

Wildlife experts have said some cheetahs could have died due to infection caused by radio collars. Rajesh Gopal, the head of the cheetah monitoring committee had said the reason could be septicemia from the radio collar on the neck.