“She is much better,” MP Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) JS Chauhan told PTI over the phone when asked about the feline's health. Sasha has some liver and kidney problems and is being treated by three veterinarians who are in constant touch with cheetah experts from Namibia and South Africa, he said.

"Her problem came to light on Monday. Dr Atul Gupta, a veterinarian at Bhopal-based Van Vihar National Park, was rushed to the Kuno National Park after the problem was detected. ?She is suffering from hepatorenal infection and has been quarantined for treatment," Chauhan added.

A wildlife expert associated with the cheetah reintroduction programme, speaking on ?condition of anonymity, said Sasha was brought to India from a captive facility named ?'Cheetah Conservation Fund', located 44 kilometres from the Namibian city of Otjiwarongo.

He said captive cheetahs often face renal (kidneys) problems, which are rare in big cats living in the wild. As per her dossier, Sasha was born on April 1, 2018, and underwent a health screening in August last year and vaccinated before being flown to India a month later. The wild cat ?weighed 32 kilograms at that time.

The eight Namibian cheetahs - five female and three male - were released into their enclosures at KNP on September 17 last year at a high-profile event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The last cheetah died in India in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the ?fastest land animal was declared extinct in the country in 1952.