Bhopal, Oct 28 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a Special Task Force (STF), comprising forest and police officers, to investigate the shooting of a 19-month-old male cheetah at Kuno National Park, the Forest Department said on Wednesday.
The move comes after the cheetah, identified as KNG22, died during treatment on Tuesday morning, following its rescue on October 25 from compartment No. 748 of the Sheopur Territorial Forest Division.
Five pellet gun shots were recovered from its body during emergency surgery, according to the statement.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Samita Rajora, said the animal was initially examined through an X-ray, which revealed multiple foreign bodies lodged at different locations in its body.
It was subsequently shifted to the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology at Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University (NDVSU) in Jabalpur for detailed investigation and intensive treatment.
A subsequent CT scan revealed that the foreign bodies had damaged the cheetah’s internal organs, musculoskeletal system and nervous system.
“Emergency surgery was performed, during which five firearm pellets were recovered from his body,” Rajora said in the statement.
Despite surgical intervention and sustained efforts by the veterinary team, the cheetah could not be saved.
Rajora said the STF, comprising Forest and Police officers, had been constituted to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident.
The probe is expected to establish the circumstances in which the animal was shot and determine whether anyone was responsible.
The Forest Department has not disclosed further details about the suspected shooting or identified any accused in the case.
With the death of KNG22, India’s cheetah population stands at 58, including 52 at Kuno National Park, four at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and two at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, according to the statement.
Kuno, located in Sheopur district, is the principal site of India’s cheetah reintroduction programme, which began in September 2022 with the translocation of cheetahs from Namibia.
Animals were subsequently brought from South Africa as part of efforts to establish a viable population of the species in India, where cheetahs were declared extinct in 1952.
–IANS
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