BHOPAL: Sasha, one of the eight cheetahs introduced in the Kuno National Park last year from Namibia, died on Monday.

She was suffering from a kidney ailment.

Sasha had been suffering from the ailment before she was brought to India.

On January 23, Sasha showed signs of fatigue and weakness, after which she was tranquilised and shifted to the quarantine enclosure for treatment.

Sasha was three years old and was released at Kuno on September 17 last year as part of India's cheetah reintroduction programme.

In the initial days, all cheetahs were kept under observation in quarantine. They were released into larger hunting enclosures in November. The cheetahs have since hunted on their own and shown signs of adapting to their new home.

Sasha was a captive-bred cheetah.

The cheetah reintroduction project is a high-stakes programme with eyes of the international conservation community on it.

The next lot of 12 cheetahs is to arrive in India very soon.