Cheetah cub strays out of Kuno, dies after being hit by vehicle in Gwalior

One of the two cheetah cubs that had been missing from the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh since last week was killed after being hit by a speeding vehicle on a highway in Gwalior on Saturday.

This is the second setback in a week as another cub was found dead on Friday, a day after it was released along with its sibling and mother into the park by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

“At 6.30 am, two 20-month-old male cheetah cubs of Gamini were crossing the National Highway-46 (Agra-Mumbai National Highway) near Ghati Gaon, Gwalior, when a speeding vehicle struck one of the cubs, killing it on the spot. The cheetah tracking team and local forest staff were continuously monitoring both cubs. A case has been registered and the investigation in underway. The other cub is healthy and doing fine,” said Uttam Kumar Sharma, Field Director, Project Cheetah.

He added that the number of cheetahs in the Kuno National Park now stood at 27, with 19 cubs and eight adult cats, and “they all are healthy and doing fine”.

Wildlife experts say the tracking team, whose task is to monitor the movement of cheetahs, failed the two cubs who had strayed out of the park last week. Speaking to The Tribune, wildlife activist Ajay Dubey, who has been tracking developments related to the big cats, said there were no convictions in such cases.

“This is the saddest part. Madhya Pradesh is one of the best states when it comes to conservation of tiger, leopards and elephants. But there are hardly any convictions in the road kills. The big question is what was the cheetah tracking team doing if they could not control the speed of the vehicle from which the accident happened?” Dubey said.