Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal
Bhopal, Oct 27: A 19-month-old male cheetah cub at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park has died after being found with multiple metal pellets lodged in its abdomen in a suspected shooting incident, forest department sources said on Tuesday.
The incident has raised concerns over the safety of cheetahs when they venture beyond protected habitats and poses a challenge to the country’s cheetah conservation programme.
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey, alleging negligence in protecting the animals, demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident and sought the removal of Kuno Field Director Uttam Sharma, DFO Thiru and SDO Amritanshu, holding the forest department responsible for failing to ensure the cub’s safety.
“I had warned about such risks for years, but the Madhya Pradesh government turned a blind eye. There is no trust in the Kuno Field Director,” Dubey said, demanding an immediate CBI probe into the suspected shooting and the cub’s death.
The male cub, one of the offspring of female cheetah Nirva, was found injured by a monitoring team on the evening of October 25 while moving through the territorial forest division of Morena district, which borders Sheopur.
The cub was rescued overnight and brought to Kuno for an initial medical examination before being shifted to a medical facility in Jabalpur for advanced treatment. Three to four metal pellets were detected inside its abdominal cavity. However, the animal died despite being shifted for specialised treatment, sources said.
The suspected shooting would be the first reported incident of its kind involving a cheetah since the species was reintroduced in India in September 2022 under Project Cheetah.
The Special Tiger Strike Force (STSF), a specialised wildlife protection unit, has been deployed in the area. The forest department is also seeking assistance from the state police’s Special Task Force to identify those responsible, officials said.
Investigators are examining whether the animal was shot using a traditional *bharmar*, a muzzle-loading firearm, or a country-made 12-bore gun. Forensic and ballistic examinations are expected to help establish the type of weapon used and assist the investigation.