Young female cheetah’s death raises concerns about predator interactions in Kuno National Park.
A 20-month-old female cheetah, born in India to the Namibian cheetah Jwala, was discovered dead in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on Monday evening. Forest officials suspect that the cheetah, which had recently separated from her mother and siblings, died following a confrontation with a leopard. This incident may represent the first recorded case of such an encounter since the reintroduction of cheetahs to India under Project Cheetah.
The young cheetah had been released into the wild along with her mother and three siblings on February 21. According to Project Cheetah Field Director Uttam Sharma, the female cheetah had been separated from her family for over a month prior to her death, which raises questions about her vulnerability in the wild. Forest staff discovered her carcass around 6.30 pm on Monday, and the precise cause of death will be determined following a post-mortem examination.
Officials indicated that the remaining cheetahs in Kuno National Park, including the siblings of the deceased animal, are currently healthy and under close observation. The ongoing monitoring is crucial, especially in light of previous expert warnings regarding potential threats from leopard encounters. The late Vincent van der Merwe, an African wildlife expert, had pointed out in 2023 that Kuno has a notably high density of leopards, which could jeopardize the success of the cheetah reintroduction initiative.
Madhya Pradesh holds the highest leopard population in India, with an estimated 3,907 leopards in the wild, according to the Union Environment Ministry’s figures for 2024. Following this latest incident, the cheetah population in Kuno now stands at 25 individuals. This includes nine adults imported from Africa and 16 cubs born in India. Since the reintroduction of cheetahs in September 2022, which marked a significant moment after the species was declared extinct in India seven decades ago, at least 15 cheetahs have died.
The Indian government officially recognized the cheetah’s extinction in 1952, with the last known wild cheetahs recorded in the country in 1948. The recent death of the young female cheetah underscores the challenges faced by the Project Cheetah initiative, which aims to restore a viable population of this species in India. As the project progresses, the interaction between cheetahs and existing predator populations like leopards will require careful management to ensure the survival of these reintroduced animals.
