Second cheetah death at MP’s Kuno within month raises questions over officials’ efficiency
The death of another cheetah within a month has raised serious questions about the efficiency of officials at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP).
A few days ago, a male Namibian Cheetah had fled from Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh, as Obaan, but was brought back to the park late evening on 22 April, as Pawan.
This was not a case of mistaken identity, but happened because the feline was rechristened with an Indian name while being on the loose.
Teams of the MP Forest Department finally rescued the cheetah and brought it back to the KNP before it was about to enter forest areas in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.
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According to KNP Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Prakash Kumar Verma, the feline was tranquilised in the Karera forest in Shivpuri district of MP and brought back to KNP at about 9.30 PM on 22 April.
The DFO said that the Cheetah was moving towards Jhansi in UP when it was rescued. The spotted cat had wandered about 150 kilometres away from its home in the KNP.
This was the third time that this five-year-old male Cheetah Obaan, who is now known as Pawan, fled from the KNP. Forest staff has had to tranquilise it twice in a month to rescue and bring it back safely to the KNP.
Obaan had strayed out of the park for the first time on 2 April and returned on its own after about 10 hours.
The Cheetah fled again on 3 April and was brought back after four days on 7 April after being tranquilised in a village about 25 kilometres away from the park.
Obaan again fled from the KNP on 16 April and forest staff had to tranquilise it to prevent it from entering UP. This time the Cheetah has returned with a new identity of Pawan.
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