India’s environment ministry and Madhya Pradesh have opened separate inquiries after a young cheetah died with five firearm pellets in its body, bringing fresh scrutiny to protections outside Kuno National Park’s protected area.
India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said KNG22, a 19-month-old male, was hurt in Morena’s territorial forest area on Oct. 25, beyond Kuno’s protected zone. Madhya Pradesh Forest Department personnel rescued him that day from the Sheopur Territorial Forest Division and took him to a veterinary facility in Jabalpur. Doctors removed five pellets during emergency surgery; examinations associated them with multiple internal injuries. KNG22 died on Oct. 27.
The central team will examine how security procedures are carried out and assess the monitoring and protection arrangements in place, the ministry said. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is represented by an Inspector General of Forests. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has assigned an Additional Director and a Regional Deputy Director. Madhya Pradesh has also formed a Special Task Force of forest and police officers.
The Indian Express and The Times of India described KNG22’s death as the first suspected case of a cheetah being shot reported since India began its reintroduction program in 2022. India declared cheetahs extinct in the country in 1952. The first group under Project Cheetah arrived from Namibia at Kuno in September 2022, according to the government.
The Indian Express has also noted that cheetahs moving beyond park boundaries may enter territorial forests overseen by different divisions, creating a protection challenge. Neither that report nor the ministry’s announcement established this as a cause of KNG22’s injuries.
The ministry said the central team will provide its conclusions and recommendations, then the ministry will decide what directions to give state and field officials. It set no deadline for the report. The ministry said the team would work with state authorities “to ensure strict and swift action in the matter.” It did not identify a suspect or establish how the pellets entered KNG22’s body.
