KNG22, a 19-month-old male cheetah from India’s Project Cheetah population, has died after veterinarians removed five firearm pellets from his body, prompting state and central authorities to investigate an alleged shooting near Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
The cheetah, one of Nirva’s offspring, was found injured after allegedly being shot on the night of October 24. Trackers located him at the same spot on the morning of October 25 and again around noon, but the animal had not moved. Forest officials then arranged a rescue and shifted him to Jabalpur for treatment.
KNG22 reached Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University in Jabalpur at about 11.50 pm on October 26. Veterinarians found multiple wounds, paralysis in the hind limbs and urinary retention, indicating possible spinal trauma. A CT scan detected metallic foreign bodies in and around the spine, including in the first lumbar vertebra, between the first lumbar and 13th thoracic vertebrae, and below the 13th thoracic vertebra.
The scan also identified two pellets beneath the skin near the left shoulder and another in the tissue of the right lung. A veterinary team led by Professor and Head Dr Shobha Jawre and Professor Dr Randhir Singh operated under general anaesthesia and removed five firearm pellets. Medical examinations linked the internal injuries to the recovered ammunition. KNG22 died at about 5.10 am on October 27.
The Madhya Pradesh government has formed a four-member joint forest-police Special Task Force to investigate the incident. The team is chaired by the officer in charge of the State Tiger Strike Force in Bhopal and includes a deputy superintendent of police from the STF Police Unit in Gwalior, the deputy forest officer of the Kuno Wildlife Forest Division and the deputy forest officer of the Sheopur Regional Forest Division. Its report is due to the state government by about November 3.
The Union government has also deputed a high-level team comprising the Inspector General of Forests of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Additional Director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and a regional deputy director of the WCCB. The team will examine the circumstances and evidence, coordinate with the state forest department and review security, monitoring and protection measures around Kuno.
Officials have questioned several people, including a couple whose identities and alleged roles have not been disclosed. No arrest has been announced. Investigators are also examining the departure of traditional hunters who had reportedly been staying in huts occupied by another nomadic community and left soon after the inquiry began.
The area had previously drawn the attention of investigative agencies over the alleged poaching of leopards. Authorities recently seized 10 leopard skins in Agra, although officials have not established whether that case is connected to KNG22’s death. One line of inquiry is whether a hunter mistook the cheetah for a leopard or fired during an encounter while hunting other wildlife.
India’s last recorded wild cheetahs were killed in 1947, and the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952. Cheetahs were brought back from Namibia in September 2022 under Project Cheetah, with Kuno serving as the principal reintroduction site. The current investigation will report to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which is expected to issue directions to state and field authorities.
