Three Cheetah Cubs Born in India Die in Heatwave

Three cheetah cubs born to a big cat that was brought to India from Africa last year have died in the country’s Kuno national park in the past week as a heatwave in the region sent temperatures soaring. 

 

The cubs were the first to be born in India in more than seven decades. 

 

Once widespread in India, cheetahs became extinct in 1952 from hunting and habitat loss. Their mother was among the 20 cheetahs India flew in from Namibia and South Africa as part of an ambitious and hotly contested plan to reintroduce the world’s fastest land animal to the South Asian country. 

 

The first cub died on Tuesday, prompting veterinarians in the national park in Madhya Pradesh state to closely monitor the mother and her three remaining cubs. 

 

The cubs appeared weak on Thursday afternoon – a day when temperatures reached 47C (113F) – and authorities intervened to help the cats. 

 

They were “weak, underweight and highly dehydrated” and two of them later died, forest officials said in a statement on Thursday. 

 

The last surviving cub is being treated in a critical care facility.

 

And here's something to ponder. I read that only 5 percent of cheetah cubs make it to adulthood.

 

China's first domestically developed jet, the C919, has its inaugural commercial flight this morning. 

 

The China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191 departed from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport, a flight time of two-and-a-half hours.

 

Finally, the Boeing-Airbus duopoly is over. China's Comac may still need a little bit more time but the writing is on the wall for both of them.