BHOPAL: A 19-month-old male cheetah cub at Kuno National Park, which was found with multiple pellets lodged in its abdomen after a suspected close-range shooting, has died, forest department sources said.




The cub, one of Nirva’s offspring, had been shifted to a medical facility in Jabalpur for advanced treatment after being rescued from a forest area bordering Sheopur and Morena districts on the night of October 25.




The death is a major setback for Project Cheetah and raises concerns over the safety of the big cats outside the protected park area.




It would be the first reported suspected shooting of a cheetah since the species was reintroduced in India in September 2022.




Three or four metal pellets had been detected inside the cub’s abdominal cavity. Investigators are examining the nature of the weapon used and the circumstances in which the animal was shot.




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.




The cub was found injured by a monitoring team on the evening of October 25 while ranging in the territorial forest division of Morena, bordering Sheopur district.




It was rescued overnight and brought to Kuno for initial medical examination before being shifted to Jabalpur for further treatment.




Morena is known for its ravine-dotted terrain and the widespread availability of country-made firearms in some pockets.




Investigators are exploring whether the animal was shot with a traditional bharmar, a muzzle-loading firearm, or a country-made 12-bore gun. A forensic and ballistic examination is expected to help establish the type of weapon used.




Some officials suspect the shooter may have fired in panic after encountering the young cheetah in the forest, possibly mistaking it for a leopard.




However, the motive and circumstances remain unconfirmed, and no suspect has been identified.




In a statement, Kuno authorities said an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the injuries and that all possible angles were being examined.




The statement, issued by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director of the Cheetah Project, did not explicitly mention a shooting.




State chief wildlife warden Samita Rajora had earlier said the case was being investigated from all angles and that it was too early to comment on the cause of the injuries.




The incident has renewed concerns about the threats cheetahs face while moving beyond protected areas. The first action plan for Project Cheetah had flagged the prevalence of bushmeat consumption and the possession of country-made firearms, bows, arrows and other hunting tools in the region.




Poaching has been a persistent concern in the landscape around Kuno. In April 2022, months before the first cheetahs arrived from Namibia, a leopard was killed by poachers in the park’s buffer zone.




Deer poaching has also been reported in surrounding areas, while forest officials have previously suspected hunting groups of entering protected areas and removing camera traps to avoid detection.




Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952. Their return is the centrepiece of Project Cheetah, launched in 2022, under which animals were brought from Africa to Kuno as part of a programme to re-establish the species in the country.