They also said the natural process of cheetahs developing thick coats of fur in anticipation of African winter appears to be proving fatal in India's wet and hot conditions and suggested treatment with long-acting medicine to deal with fatal infections and prevent any more death.
The experts said that the thicker coats, high parasite load and moisture create a perfect recipe for dermatitis with fly strike on top of it compounding the infection and compromising the skin's integrity.
Infections can spread and the contaminated fluids can run down the spine when the cheetahs sit up on their haunches.
The experts said that adapting on an "evolutionary timescale" might be the only permanent solution if there's a genetic link to the development of winter coats.
They emphasised that the relocation of at least 50 more founder cheetahs from the South
African metapopulation over the next decade will be crucial for stabilising the Indian population.
Continuous swaps between the Southern African and Indian metapopulations will also be necessary for long-term genetic and demographic viability.
The experts strongly advised Indian authorities to identify alternative sites for reintroduction, suggesting that Kuno may be a sink reserve.
Sink reserves are habitats that have limited resources or environmental conditions that are less favourable for the survival or reproduction of a species. Sink reserves are reliant on dispersing animals from source reserves -- habitats that provide optimal conditions for population growth and reproduction of a particular species -- to maintain their population numbers.
The experts recommended having at least two additional reintroduction sites available by the end of 2024, with an area of above 50 square kilometres and preferably fenced as unfenced systems worldwide have not seen successful cheetah reintroduction.
Talking to PTI, Union environment ministry officials had earlier rejected the idea of having fenced reserves, saying it goes against the basic tenets of wildlife conservation.
In a letter to the Supreme Court last month, the international experts had expressed serious concerns about the management of the project.
The experts expressed frustration that they were not being given timely information and were excluded from decision-making processes. They claimed that their involvement has been minimised since a key project leader, Y V Jhala, retired.
Some of the cheetah deaths could have been prevented with better monitoring and timely veterinary care, they had told the apex court.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) told the Supreme Court that there is no reason to believe that cheetah deaths were caused by any inherent unsuitability at Kuno.
According to the NTCA, cheetahs, in general, have low survival rates, with only 50 per cent of adult cheetahs surviving even in non-introduced populations. For introduced populations, the survival rates are even lower.
While the mortalities are troubling, the NTCA assured that they are not unduly alarming.
Sharing its plans with the apex court for the introduction of cheetahs in other areas, the NTCA said it is preparing the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh for this purpose.
On the Mukundra Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, the NTCA said it is not suitable for accommodating cheetahs at the moment. The reserve witnessed the deaths of five tigers in 2020 within a short span of time with some of them attributed to tick and parasitic infections.
The NTCA expressed concerns about the low prey density and a large number of feral cattle carrying a significant amount of parasitic load, which could pose challenges to the survival of cheetahs at Mukundra.