4 Cheetah Cubs Died In Kuno, Suspected To Be Killed By Predator Animal

The carcasses of the four cheetah cubs were found to be partially eaten, indicating that they might have been killed by a predator animal, a senior forest officer told this newspaper, unwilling to be quoted.

“The bodies of the four cheetah cubs were spotted by the monitoring team near the den site in Sheopur territorial division of Kuno at around 6.30 am on Tuesday. The carcasses were found to be partially eaten, indicating that they might have been killed by a predator animal”, the forest officer said.

The cubs were last seen alive on May 11.

Their mother is healthy and doing well, the forest officer said.

The exact cause of death of the four cubs could be known in the postmortem reports, he added.

The four cubs were born on April 11 to KGP 12, the second India- born female cheetah at Kuno to become mother.

Mukhi is the first India-born female cheetah to become a mother at Kuno.

Five other female cheetahs who became mothers at Kuno were either born in Namibia or South Africa.

With the death of the four cubs, the cheetah population in Kuno has come down to 50, including 33 cubs.

Three cheetahs have been shifted to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh from Kuno a year ago.