新德里：印度政府周三（10月28日）表示，在一只猎豹被枪杀后，印度誓言将采取“迅速行动”，这是该国2022年开始重新引进猎豹以来首起此类杀害事件。
NEW DELHI: India has vowed "swift action" after a cheetah was shot dead, the first such killing since the country began reintroducing the animals in 2022, the government said on Wednesday (Oct 28).
环境部称，已下令成立“高层团队进行实地调查”，对这起19个月大雄性猎豹遭枪击事件予以“高度重视”。
The environment ministry said it had ordered a "high-level team for an on-ground investigation" into the shooting of the 19-month-old male, treating the incident with "utmost gravity".
这只出生于印度的猎豹——其母亲是作为恢复地球上奔跑速度最快的陆生动物努力的一部分，从博茨瓦纳、纳米比亚和南非引入印度的猎豹之一——在受保护国家公园外的森林游荡时遭枪击。
The India-born cheetah - whose mother was among those introduced to India from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa as part of efforts to restore the planet's fastest land animal - was shot as it prowled in forests outside a protected national park.
亚洲猎豹于1952年在印度被宣布灭绝。这一极度濒危亚种曾分布于中东、中亚和印度，如今仅在伊朗以极少数量存活。
Asiatic cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952. The critically endangered subspecies, once found across the Middle East, Central Asia and India, now survives in very small numbers in Iran.
它们的非洲亲缘种于2022年9月首次被重新引入印度，地点位于新德里以南300公里的库诺国家公园。
Their African cousins were first reintroduced in September 2022 to India, to the Kuno National Park, 300km south of New Delhi.
这只受伤猎豹于周日在中央邦库诺国家公园边界外的森林中被发现，随后送往兽医处救治。环境部表示：“手术过程中，从其体内取出了五颗枪弹弹丸。”尽管全力抢救，该猎豹于周二死亡。
The wounded cheetah was picked up on Sunday in forests in Madhya Pradesh state, outside Kuno's boundaries, and taken for veterinary care. "During the surgery, five firearm pellets were recovered from its body," the environment ministry said. Despite efforts, the cheetah died on Tuesday.
环境部补充道：“医学检查证实，其体内存在与取出的枪弹弹丸相关的多处内部损伤。”
"Medical examinations corroborated multiple internal injuries associated with the recovered firearm pellets," it added.
这一备受瞩目的项目由总理纳伦德拉·莫迪大力推动，但因多只猎豹死亡而饱受批评。
The high-profile project, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been dogged by criticism over the deaths of several of the cats.
不过，动物重新引入领域的专家表示，此类项目往往导致超过50%的死亡率，尤其是在初期阶段。
But experts in animal reintroductions say they often result in more than 50 per cent mortality, especially in the initial phases.
负责监管猎豹项目的国家老虎保护局表示，存活率和捕猎成功率“与其他国际猎豹重新引入项目相当，记录在案的野生猎物捕杀案例证实已成功适应印度环境”。
The National Tiger Conservation Authority, which oversees the cheetah project, said that survival rates and hunting successes are "comparable to other international cheetah reintroduction efforts, with recorded wild prey kills confirming successful adaptation to the Indian landscape".
印度野生猎豹总数约为60只，其中包括约40只在印度出生的猎豹。
The total cheetah population in the wild in India is around 60, including some 40 Indian-born cheetahs.