Another Cheetah cub dies in zoo

The Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens suffered another setback as a four-month-old male cheetah cub died on Wednesday morning.

In a month’s time, the zoo has witnessed the death of four African hunting Cheetahs. Zoo authorities attributed the cub’s death to the loss of its mother Maya, which died last month.The authorities are now planning to invite an expert from South Africa to visit Mysore. They have also mailed the details of the death to the zoo authorities there.

The cub was the fourth of the Maya’s litter. Sources in the zoo said the cub was weak following its mother’s death. It was being provided nutritional supplements.

However, cheetah cubs need mother’s milk for at least six months. With Maya dying just two months after the cubs’ birth, the two weaklings also failed to survive. The other three cubs of Maya are said to be in a healthy condition.  This is the fourth African hunting cheetah to die in a month, with the first being a female cheetah Maya on June 12.

The second cheetah to die was Maya’s cub on June 26 owing to growth of dual intestine, known as intussusception. The third cheetah to die was an unnamed 15-month-old female cub on July 10.