Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Taking lessons from the past, the Kuno National park administration are well prepared and are taking required steps to ensure that Cheetahs do not develop any kind of bacterial infection during the rains.
The rains arrived in the arid area of Kuno National Park on Friday bringing the much required relief from intense heat. Last monsoon, three cheetahs had died due to bacterial infection in their blood after a maggot infestation in the wet skin underneath their radio collars went unchecked. This time, the Kuno officials are all prepared and will be giving anti maggot drug to all 13 adult cheetahs at the national park.
The Kuno field director Uttam Kumar Sharma told Free Press that contemplation is on to provide Anti Ecto Parasite Medicine' (anti maggot) to all adult cheetahs to that would kill parasites that live on the body's surface. The medicine is mostly applied on the body parts of the cheetahs and it acts against different life stages of any parasite like maggot which mostly occurs in moist weather conditions.
The effect of the drug lasts for three to four months and it is adequate to deal with any kind of infection occurring during the monsoon season.
'As of now, we are waiting to get some more rains here and thereafter we will think on giving anti maggot drug to adult cheetahs because we want the effect of the medicine to last on cheetahs throughout the monsoon season,' said another officer at Kuno.
Sources at the Kuno said that officials may also ponder giving the anti-maggot medicine to those cheetah cubs that are soon to age six-month. In this regard, the guidance will be taken from the experts.
Notably, there are thirteen adult cheetahs and thirteen cubs in Kuno. The three cubs of Cheetah 'Asha' will be six months old by July, similarly cubs of another female cheetah turned six-month-old today i.e. June 22.
Rain respite in Kuno
The officials at the Kuno National Park heaved a sigh of relief as the first rain hit the park on Friday. The showers brought down the excruciating temperatures to a comfortable level and it is good for cheetahs, said Kuno National field director Uttam Kumar Sharma. Summer challenge is probably over, said an official, adding that rains not only provide much needed respite from the intense heat but will also improve the physical wellbeing of cheetahs. Rains will also support their prey base, he added.
