Another Namibian Cheetah Found Dead in Madhya Pradesh

On August 27, another Namibian Cheetah named Pawan from the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh passed away due to drowning. The news of this death comes just weeks after the death Gamini, a five-month-old African cheetah cub passed away on August 5.

The office of the Additional Principal Chief Conservation of Forest (APCCF) and director of Lion Project, Uttam Sharma released a statement that said the cheetah was found lying near the edge of a swollen stream at around 10:30am on Tuesday.

“The preliminary cause of death seems to be drowning. Further details will be provided once the post-mortem report is received,” said Uttam Sharma.  “A closer inspection by veterinarians revealed that the front half of the cheetah’s carcass, including the head, was inside the water. No external injuries were seen anywhere on the body”, he further added.

An officer of MP forest department also said, “He was the only free-range cheetah. His location was being traced regularly. The tracking team on Tuesday got alerted when he was not seen moving. The team found him dead.”

Pawan had fathered at least seven of the sixteen cubs born in Kuno National Park in the last one and a half years. Pawan had traveled 300 kilometers of forest in Sheopur, Shivpuri, Guna, and Morena districts since being released into the wild a year ago, surviving a tiger encounter in Madhav National Park for more than a week in 2023.

A senior forest officer, who was associated with Cheetah Project, said, “Pawan was one of the examples of successful translocation of Cheetah from Namibia to India. His death is shocking for us.”

This is the 10^th Cheetah death from the Kuno National Park that has been reported. Following Pawan’s death, the park now has 12 adult cheetahs and 12 cubs.