Representative image. PMO India, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
This is the first suspected shooting of a cheetah since the reintroduction began in 2022, and it happened outside the park, where free-ranging cheetahs move through forests shared by several forest divisions. At least two other Kuno cheetahs are in the same area, the New Indian Express reported. How the investigation goes will show how well the programme can protect animals once they leave Kuno.
A 19-month-old male Kuno cheetah cub, born in India to the South African female Nirva, died on 27 October 2026 in Jabalpur with pellet injuries in its body, two days after a monitoring team found it hurt in forests outside Kuno National Park. Dr Shobha Jawre of the veterinary college in Jabalpur told the Indian Express that pellets were removed during surgery and that the injuries caused the death. It is the first suspected shooting of a cheetah since India began bringing the animals back in 2022, The Hindu and the Indian Express reported.
Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Wildlife Warden, Samita Rajora, confirmed the death to the Indian Express. Who fired at the animal, and why, is not yet known. The State Tiger Strike Force, a unit that investigates serious wildlife crime, is leading the inquiry.
How the Kuno cheetah cub was found and treated
The cub wore a radio collar and was being tracked by a dedicated team. On the evening of Sunday, 25 October, that team found it injured in the Pahargarh range of the Morena Territorial Forest Division, the Indian Express reported. The New Indian Express said the animal could not move freely on its own.
It was rescued the same night and taken to Kuno National Park for examination and treatment, according to a statement issued on 26 October by Uttam Kumar Sharma, field director of Kuno and director of Project Cheetah. His statement said an investigation was under way and that every possible explanation was being examined.
The Kuno cheetah was then moved to Jabalpur for advanced care. The Hindu reported that it died during treatment at the School of Wildlife Forensic and Health there on 27 October, and that a senior doctor at the institute confirmed this. Dr Jawre, from the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry in Jabalpur, told the Indian Express her team had submitted its report to wildlife officials.
When The Hindu published its report on the afternoon of 27 October, an official statement on the death was still awaited. The paper said Sharma declined to comment that day because the cub had been found outside his area of jurisdiction.
What investigators are looking at
Before the medical findings on the cheetah cub death came in, officials were weighing several explanations. Between them, the four reports read by NewsPlainly describe these lines of inquiry:
- a shot from a Bharmar, a single-shot, muzzle-loading country-made gun that the New Indian Express said is used by some people living near these forests;
- an attack by people with sticks or rods (New Indian Express, Free Press Journal);
- a fight with a leopard (New Indian Express, Free Press Journal, Indian Express);
- poaching, or a clash between people and the animal, the two lines the Indian Express said the strike force is now focused on.
Morena’s District Forest Officer, Harish Baghel, said forest staff and the special team were examining all angles, the Free Press Journal reported. Rajora told the New Indian Express on 26 October that an extensive probe had begun into exactly how the cheetah was so badly hurt.
The location has drawn attention for another reason. The same forests were part of an investigation into an alleged interstate leopard-poaching network that was broken up in July 2026, the New Indian Express reported. Investigators have linked that alleged racket to the killing of at least 10 leopards across the Kuno, Morena and Sheopur forest divisions, and more than 10 people have been arrested, according to the New Indian Express and earlier reports cited by the Indian Express. No report read by NewsPlainly linked any person to the cheetah’s injuries.
The New Indian Express also reported that at least two other free-ranging Kuno cheetahs are moving through the same forest area.
Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey told The Hindu he suspected poaching. He said a cheetah attacking a person without provocation was very rare and questioned whether poachers had known where the animal was.
Project Cheetah so far: arrivals, births and the latest count
The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. Project Cheetah, the reintroduction programme, began in September 2022, and the animals now live at three sites in Madhya Pradesh. The timeline below is built from The Hindu’s and Swarajya’s reports.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| September 2022 | 8 cheetahs flown in from Namibia, the first intercontinental move of the programme |
| February 2023 | 20 cheetahs brought from South Africa |
| February 2026 | 9 cheetahs moved from Botswana |
| 12 October 2026 | An 8-month-old cub of the Namibian female Aasha found dead at Kuno; official figures that day showed 59 cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh, 40 of them born in India and 15 roaming free (Swarajya) |
| October 2026 | Chief Minister Mohan Yadav releases 2 cheetahs into Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, Sagar, the third site |
| 25 October 2026 | Nirva’s 19-month-old male cub found injured in Morena forests |
| 27 October 2026 | The cub dies in Jabalpur; the count falls to 58 (The Hindu) |
By NewsPlainly’s count, the three shipments add up to 37 cheetahs brought into India (8 plus 20 plus 9). The Hindu reported 41 births in the country so far. It put the current total at 58: 52 at Kuno and 4 at the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts. The remaining 2 are the pair released at Veerangana Durgavati this month, which matches The Hindu’s report of that release.
Why cheetahs outside Kuno are harder to protect
Kuno’s free-ranging cheetahs do not stay inside Kuno National Park. Once they cross into the surrounding territorial forests, the duty to protect them is split between several forest divisions, the Indian Express noted. In this case Kuno handled the rescue and treatment, while the Morena territorial division is central to the investigation because the cub was found there.
The risk was written down at the start. The first action plan for Project Cheetah flagged country-made guns and other hunting tools in the wider landscape, the Indian Express reported. It listed shooting, snaring, trapping, poisoning and electrocution as threats. It also proposed more foot and vehicle patrols backed by armed staff and police, digital patrol records through the M-STrIPES system, and checkpoints with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on highways out of Pohari towards Gwalior, Shivpuri and Sheopur. The reports read did not say how many of these steps are in place around Morena.
All cheetahs released into the wild wear radio collars, and the authorities say they are tracked by satellite around the clock, The Hindu reported. That tracking is what led the team to the injured cub on 25 October.
What happens next in the cheetah cub death inquiry
The State Tiger Strike Force is trying to identify who was responsible, the Indian Express reported. The veterinary report from Jabalpur has gone to wildlife officials. This Kuno cheetah’s death leaves 58 cheetahs in India, according to The Hindu, with at least two more free-ranging animals in the same Morena forests, according to the New Indian Express.
Frequently asked questions
How did the Kuno cheetah cub die?
Dr Shobha Jawre of the veterinary college in Jabalpur told the Indian Express the cub died of pellet injuries; pellets were removed during surgery. Who fired, and why, has not been established.
Where was the cheetah cub found?
In the Pahargarh range of the Morena Territorial Forest Division, outside Kuno National Park, on the evening of 25 October 2026.
How many cheetahs are left in India?
58 after this death, according to The Hindu: 52 at Kuno, 4 at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and 2 at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
Who is investigating?
The State Tiger Strike Force of Madhya Pradesh, a unit for serious wildlife crime, with forest staff of the Morena division.