A forest official reported that four cheetah cubs were discovered dead on Tuesday in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP), noting that injuries on their bodies suggest they were killed in a leopard attack. The cubs, born in the wild to a cheetah identified as KGP12, were found dead in their den in the Sheopur park. Delivered on April 11 and hailed as India’s first cheetahs born in the wild, they were discovered lifeless by a forest department monitoring team.
The monitoring team discovered four partially consumed carcasses in the forest, while their mother, KGP12, was confirmed safe and observed roaming in the vicinity, an official said. KGP12 is the cub of Gamini, a cheetah originally born in South Africa. Her litter represented the first instance of a cheetah born in India and living in the wild giving birth outside a captive enclosure. Forest authorities celebrated the births as a significant milestone toward the project’s core goals, which include ensuring the big cats’ survival in their natural habitat and enabling them to breed under natural conditions.
The cubs were under continuous round-the-clock observation without any intervention. They were alive and in good health on May 11. However, on Tuesday morning, they were discovered dead, bearing deep injuries and with parts of their bodies eaten. At first glance, it appears they were attacked by a leopard," said KNP field director Uttam Sharma. The remains have been sent for a post-mortem examination.
Forest officials monitoring the area have determined that at least 14 other adult cheetahs are active in the wild. Over the past three years, as many as 57 cubs have been born at KNP. Of the 37 that remain, only four were born in the wild, while 33 were reared in a soft-release enclosure. In all, 50 cheetahs have been recorded at KNP, with an additional three at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
