The Centre on Wednesday took “serious note” of the death of a 19-month-old cheetah due to firearm pellet injuries outside Kuno National Park, and ordered an immediate on-ground investigation by a central team comprising senior wildlife crime officials, the environment ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The state government has already constituted a Special Task Force (STF), comprising forest and police officers. “The Union Government has taken serious note of the death of a 19-month-old male Cheetah (KNG22) of Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, due to firearm pellet injuries.
Viewing the matter with utmost gravity, the Centre has deputed a high-level team for an on-ground investigation into the incident, given the critical importance of Project Cheetah and the need to ensure the highest standards of protection for the reintroduced population of the Big Cat,” the Union environment ministry said in the statement. The environment ministry said the central team would work in coordination with the state machinery. “It would also examine the implementation of security protocols, as well as monitoring and protection measures being undertaken to avoid any such incident in future,” the ministry said.
The adolescent cheetah, an offspring of Cheetah Nirva, was rescued Sunday evening from the Pahargarh range in Morena’s territorial forests and taken to Kuno National Park for treatment. During the surgery, five firearm pellets were recovered from its body.
Officials said the probe team has been tasked with conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the cheetah’s death and coordinating closely with the Madhya Pradesh forest department for action. The Madhya Pradesh forest department previously said the veterinary facility in Jabalpur provided the cheetah with intensive care and emergency surgery.
