A month after their birth, four cheetah cubs were found dead inside Kuno National Park on Tuesday morning, officials confirmed. The carcasses were discovered partially eaten near the den site, raising suspicions of predation by another wild animal.
According to forest officials, the cubs were born on April 11 to female cheetah KGP12 and were being regularly monitored by wildlife teams in the Sheopur territorial division.
The cubs were last seen alive on the evening of May 11 before the monitoring team discovered their bodies around 6:30 am on Tuesday.
An official associated with the project said the preliminary assessment points toward predation as the likely cause of death.
“The death of these cubs appears to have been caused due to predation by another animal,” the official said.
Authorities added that the mother cheetah is safe and healthy. A post-mortem examination and detailed investigation are now being conducted to determine the exact circumstances behind the deaths.
India’s Cheetah Population Drops To 53
Following the deaths of the four cubs, India’s cheetah population now stands at 53.
Of these:
- 50 cheetahs are currently housed in Kuno National Park
- 3 cheetahs are at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary
Officials said 33 of the surviving cheetahs were born in India under the ongoing cheetah reintroduction programme.
“All the surviving cheetahs are healthy and doing well,” the official added.
India’s Ambitious Cheetah Reintroduction Project
India launched its ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme in 2022, marking the return of the species to the country after decades of extinction in the wild.
The first batch of eight cheetahs arrived from Namibia on September 17, 2022. Later, 12 more cheetahs were brought from South Africa in 2023.
Most recently, nine additional cheetahs — including six females and three males — were translocated from Botswana to Kuno in February this year.
The project has seen both milestones and setbacks, with several cub births boosting conservation hopes while deaths due to illness, environmental stress and territorial conflicts have also raised concerns among wildlife experts.