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Kuno National Park: India-born cheetah dies after suspected leopard encounter
Kuno National Park now has 25 cheetahs, nine adults (six females and three males), and 16 Indian born.
A 20-month-old female cheetah, born in India, was found dead on Monday evening at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur following a suspected encounter with a leopard, forest officials said.
If verified by the post mortem report, this would mark the first recorded cheetah death due to a leopard attack in the park, said a senior forest official who didn’t wish to be named.
On Monday evening at around 06.30pm, forest officials found the carcass of one of four cubs born to Jwala, a cheetah translocated from Africa. She had been released into the wild along with her three siblings and mother Jwala on February 21, 2025.
She got separated from her mother over a month ago and had recently parted ways with her siblings.
Cheetah Project field director Uttam Sharma confirmed the death and said, “Preliminary injury marks suggested the sub-adult cub died following a fight with a leopard. Further details will be known after the PM report is received.”
In response, forest officials have intensified monitoring of three other sub-adult cheetahs of Asha and the remaining three of Jwala. These six sub-adult cheetahs have been roaming independently in different directions for the past one month, raising concerns about their safety.
Kuno now has 25 cheetahs, nine adults (six females and three males), and 16 Indian born.
Out of total cubs born in India, 11 were in the wild for the past eight-nine months. Now, 10 cheetahs have left while six were in a soft release enclosure with their mothers Gamini and Veera after their birth in February and April this year.
