Cheetah cub dies after suspected shooting in MP, first such case since reintroduction

Bhopal: A 19-month-old radio-collared male cheetah, rescued from a forest area in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district with "pellet injuries", has died, with official details of the circumstances surrounding its death awaited. Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has alleged that the animal was shot using a traditional muzzle-loading firearm known as a ‘Bharmar’, claiming that pellets were found inside its abdomen.

Some media reports have also claimed that the cheetah was shot at close range, though this has not been officially confirmed.

If the death and shooting are confirmed, the incident could mark a major setback for Project Cheetah, India’s ambitious initiative to reintroduce the species after it became extinct in the country in 1952.

While official confirmation of the cheetah’s death is awaited, Dubey told Mathrubhumi English, "The cheetah has died. Ironically, the last three cheetahs in India, before the species was reintroduced in 2022, died of bullets in the princely state of Korea (Koriya), which is in the present-day Chhattisgarh. In the Ramgad forest area of Sunahat in Korea, the late Raja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Korea shot the last cheetahs in India in December 1947. The history has repeated itself."

Dubey has claimed that the alleged shooting, if confirmed, would mark the first death of a cheetah due to shooting since the species was reintroduced in India.

Earlier, Dubey had claimed that pellets were found inside the abdomen of the injured cheetah during treatment at a forest department medical facility in Jabalpur. The animal was rescued on Sunday night after the monitoring team raised concerns about its condition.

Speaking to Mathrubhumi English, Dubey alleged that a Bharmar, a traditional muzzle-loading firearm historically used for hunting, was used to shoot the cheetah.

The claim regarding the firearm, as well as reports that the animal was shot at close range, has not been confirmed by the forest department. The alleged recovery of pellets, the nature of the injuries and the cause of the reported death remain to be officially established.

Mathrubhumi English tried contacting Samita Rajora, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), and Kuno National Park’s Field Director for their responses to the allegations and confirmation of the cheetah’s reported death. However, they were unavailable for comment at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, Dubey, earlier on Tuesday, accused the forest department of negligence and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, besides the removal of Kuno National Park’s Field Director, Uttam Sharma, and Sheopur Divisional Forest Officer R Thirukural.

Forest officials had said on Monday that an investigation was underway, with a team from the State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) dispatched to Morena to investigate the incident. Rajora had earlier said that a team had been sent to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident. A dog squad was also deployed to assist with the investigation.

Dubey further claimed that the state government may constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the incident. However, he questioned whether an SIT comprising state forest department officials would be able to conduct an impartial inquiry.

About Project Cheetah

Launched in September 2022, Project Cheetah brought eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. A further 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa in February 2023.

The initiative marked the world’s first intercontinental translocation of wild cheetahs, aimed at establishing a free-ranging population in India decades after the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952.

The project has since recorded births in India, alongside multiple cheetah deaths, making the survival and long-term establishment of the relocated population a key conservation challenge.