4 one-month-old cheetah cubs found dead in Kuno National Park
What's the story
Four cheetah cubs, born a month ago, were found dead in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Tuesday morning. The carcasses of the cubs were partially eaten when discovered by the monitoring team near their den site in Sheopur territorial division around 6:30am. The cubs were last seen alive on May 11. Initial investigations suggest their deaths may have been caused by predation from another animal.
Ongoing probe
Cubs last seen alive on May 11
The mother cheetah, KGP12, who gave birth to the cubs on April 11, is reported to be safe and healthy. A postmortem examination and detailed investigation are underway to ascertain the exact cause of death. The incident has reduced India's cheetah population to 53. Kuno National Park houses 50 cheetahs, including 33 born in India. Three others are at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
Population status
Reintroduction of cheetahs to Kuno National Park
All surviving cheetahs in India are reported to be healthy. Nine cheetahs, including six females and three males, were brought from Botswana in February this year. This was preceded by eight cheetahs from Namibia on September 17, 2022, and 12 from South Africa in 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released eight cheetahs translocated from Namibia at Kuno on September 17, 2022, kicking off India's cheetah reintroduction campaign following the species' extinction in the country in 1952.