BHOPAL: A Namibian female cheetah, Jwala, and her four cubs were reportedly pelted with stones by villagers in Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh, while attempting to hunt a cattle calf.
Jwala and her cubs are among the three sets of African female cheetahs and their offspring born in India and released into the free-ranging forests of Kuno National Park (KNP) since 5 February. The mother and cubs had strayed out of KNP and were roaming near the Sheopur-Gwalior railway line when they caught hold of a cattle calf.
A viral video of the incident shows villagers pelting stones and attempting to scare away the felines with lathis. The sudden attack forced the cheetahs to abandon their hunt and flee back into the forests of KNP, the first home to African cheetahs since September 2022.
According to sources, members of the KNP tracking team rushed to the spot, intervened to stop the villagers, and ensured the safety of the mother and cubs. All five cheetahs are reportedly healthy and secure.
A senior state forest department official associated with the cheetah project stated, “We’re making sustained efforts to ensure proper public awareness about the cheetahs. People will slowly adapt and co-exist with the cheetahs.”
While cheetahs released into the wild at KNP have previously strayed outside the park—sometimes into neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan—this is possibly the first time they have been attacked by villagers.
Jwala and her four cubs, including two males and two females (each around 14 months old), were released into the free-ranging forests of KNP’s Khajuri tourist zone on 21 February.
Before that, on 5 February, the first set of a mother and cubs—Namibian female Aasha with three cubs—were released into the wild alongside South African female Dheera. The quintet, consisting of two adult females and three cubs, joined the South African male coalition, Agni and Vayu, in KNP’s forests.
On 17 March, a third set of a mother cheetah and cubs—South African female Gamini and her four cubs (two males and two females)—were released in KNP’s Khajuri forest area. This increased the number of free-ranging cheetahs in the park to 17, including six African adults and 11 Indian-born cubs.
Jwala and Gamini’s release into the wild, along with their eight Indian-born cubs, was made possible due to the successful adaptation of Aasha and her three cubs in the park.
Currently, KNP has a total of 26 cheetahs, with 17 in the wild and nine in protective enclosures.