Madhya Pradesh Cheetah Dies With 5 Pellets in Body; Poaching Probed

A 19-month-old male cheetah, tagged KNG22, died at 5:10 AM on Tuesday, 27 October, at the Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University (NDVSU) in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, after five firearm pellets were removed from its body, according to a statement by Chief Wildlife Warden Samita Rajora reported by PTI. The animal was rescued injured on 25 October from a forest compartment in the Sheopur division, close to Morena district, and shifted to Jabalpur the next day. The state has set up a task force of forest and police officers to find out how it was shot.

A Radio-Collared Cheetah, Shot in the Wild

NDVSU said the cheetah had hindlimb paraplegia and that a CT scan found metallic foreign bodies in its spine, left shoulder and right lung. Surgeons removed five pellets under general anaesthesia, but the animal did not survive. ThePrint reported four pellets, citing officials; the PTI and Tribune reports say five. The forest department has not officially confirmed the cause of death, and Rajora said poaching has not been ruled out. The Tribune reported that this is the first shooting case involving a cheetah in the state, and that the animal wore a radio collar.

Questions on Tracking and Security

Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Environment Ministry asking for a high-level inquiry. He asked how poachers knew where the cheetah was and why earlier poaching incidents around Kuno, Sheopur and Shivpuri did not lead to tighter security, the Tribune reported. An unnamed forest official told ThePrint the pellets “definitely point towards some kind of human involvement”. Authorities have not responded to Dubey’s complaint in the reports seen by IPB.

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Eight Cheetahs Lost This Year

India now has 58 cheetahs: 52 in Kuno National Park, four in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and two in Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve. The reintroduction began in September 2022 with eight cheetahs from Namibia, and more arrived from South Africa in February 2023. ThePrint reported that eight cheetahs have died in India this year and that an eight-month-old cub of the Namibian cheetah Asha was found dead in Kuno about two weeks ago. For more, see our Daily Updates.

Task Force to Report on the Shooting

No date has been announced for the task force’s findings, and the official cause of death is pending. Whether the NTCA will order its own inquiry is not known yet.

Source: Based on reporting by The Tribune, The Federal (PTI) and ThePrint.

Image: ThePrint.