Sheopur: In what could be the first conflict with a leopard, a 20-month-old female cheetah was killed at the Kuno National Park in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh.
The carcass of the sub-adult cheetah, one of those born in India, was found on Monday evening. Once the post mortem report confirms it, it would be the first recorded cheetah death due to a leopard attack in the park, a senior forest official said.
“Around 6.30 pm on Monday, the carcass of one of four cubs born to Jwala, a cheetah translocated from Africa, was found. She had been released into the wild along with her three siblings and mother Jwala on February 21, 2025,” the official said.
The cheetah apparently got separated from her mother over a month ago and had recently parted ways with her siblings, he added.
The death was confirmed by Cheetah Project field director Uttam Sharma. “Preliminary injury marks suggested the sub-adult cub died following a fight with a leopard. Further details will be known after the post mortem report is received,” he said.
Forest department staff have intensified monitoring of the movement of the three remaining cubs of Jwala and three other sub-adult cheetahs that were born to Asha, another animal translocated from Africa.
The six sub-adult cheetahs have been roaming independently in different directions for the past one month, raising concerns about their safety, officials said.
Kuno now has 25 cheetahs. Nine of them are adults (six females and three males). The remaining 16 sub-adults are Indian born.
Of the total cubs born in India, 11 were in the wild for the past eight-nine months. Now, 10 of them remain. Six are in a soft release enclosure with their mothers Gamini and Veera after their birth in February and April this year.
