All four cheetah cubs born a month ago to an Indian-born cheetah for the first time in the wild were found mauled to death near the Kuno National Park (KNP) in India’s ‘Cheetah State’, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday, despite claims by top KNP authorities of 24X7 surveillance and monitoring of the cheetah family.
The cheetah cubs were born on 11 April to the 26-month-old Indian-born Cheetah tagged as KGP-12.
KGP-12 is the offspring of South African cheetah Gamini, which was brought to KNP in February 2023.
On Tuesday, the KNP monitoring team found all four cubs dead near their mother’s den.
Officials said the deceased cubs had bite marks and deep wounds on their partially-eaten bodies, pointing to a strong possibility that some predator, like a leopard, attacked and killed them.
However, the exact cause would be known only after the post-mortem reports come in.
KNP Director Uttam Kumar Sharma claimed that the KNP staff were monitoring the cheetah cubs and mother round the clock. He stated that the cubs were seen alive and healthy till Monday evening, but were found dead on Tuesday.
“Preliminary investigations and the injury marks suggest that a leopard attacked and killed the four cubs,” Sharma told The Statesman on Wednesday.
“Neither do we know the exact identity of the predator, nor can we track all animals. It was definitely not done by any GPS collar-fitted large carnivore,” he said.
“The incident occurred in the Sheopur territorial region outside the KNP area. Such incidents keep happening in the wild,” Sharma said.
“The post-mortem was conducted, but we do not know how many of the deceased cubs were male or female,” Sharma said.
He said the cheetah mother is safe and healthy.
The killing of the cubs, a major setback to ‘Project Cheetah’, has raised serious questions about the safety of cheetahs in the wild, the field staff monitoring them, and the management proficiency of the top KNP officials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched ‘Project Cheetah’ at the KNP on his 72nd birthday on 17 September 2022.
When the four cubs were born on 11 April this year, officials said it was the first recorded birth in the wild at Kuno National Park, where ‘Project Cheetah’ was launched to reintroduce the world’s fastest animal to India.
Rejoicing the birth, Union Environment and Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav had then said, “A historic moment unfolds at Kuno National Park as an Indian-born offspring of Gamini, aged 25 months, has given birth to four cubs in the wild — marking a major milestone in India’s cheetah conservation journey.”
“Having been in the wild for over a year, this is the first recorded birth in the wild since the reintroduction began in 2022, and notably, the first such instance involving an Indian-born female,” Yadav had said.
“This is a significant step towards achieving the core objectives of the project — survival and breeding under natural conditions,” he had said.
“This achievement reflects the growing adaptation of cheetahs to Indian conditions and stands as a testament to the dedication and tireless efforts of the managers, veterinarians, and field staff at Kuno,” Yadav had stated.
With this litter, a total of 49 cubs were born in 11 litters since 2023, of which 37 are surviving.
However, the number of surviving cubs has now been reduced to 33. All the remaining alive cubs are in large enclosures, and only these four deceased cubs were in the wild.
The total number of cheetahs, including cubs, in Madhya Pradesh and India has now also come down to 53 from 57.
Of this, 50 cheetahs, including all cubs, are at the KNP in the Sheopur district of MP, while three adult cheetahs are at the Gandhi Sagar sanctuary in the Ujjain division of the state.
The Asiatic Cheetah was officially declared extinct in India in 1952, after the country’s recorded last three adult male cheetahs were shot dead by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo in 1947 in the Korea district of present-day Chhattisgarh.