Four cheetah cubs died inside Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. Forest officials suspect a leopard attacked the cubs. Officials found the cubs dead inside their den during routine monitoring. The cubs belonged to a cheetah named KGP12.

Forest Team Finds Half-Eaten Bodies

A forest department team discovered the cubs’ half-eaten carcasses in the forest area. Officials said the mother cheetah, KGP12, remained safe. They spotted her roaming nearby after the incident.

The cubs were born on April 11. Officials had celebrated them as India’s first wild-born cheetahs under the country’s cheetah restoration programme.

Officials Suspect Leopard Attack

Kuno National Park field director Uttam Sharma said forest staff monitored the cubs round the clock without disturbing them.

“The cubs were being monitored 24x7 without interference. On May 11, they were alive and in healthy condition. But on Tuesday morning, they were found dead with deep wounds and partially eaten bodies. Prima facie, they were attacked by a leopard,” Sharma said.

Officials sent the carcasses for post-mortem examination to confirm the exact cause of death.

Births Marked Major Success for Project

KGP12 is the offspring of Gamini, a cheetah brought from South Africa under India’s cheetah relocation programme. The births marked a major milestone for the project. For the first time, an Indian-born cheetah raised in the wild gave birth outside an enclosure.

Forest officials earlier described the births as a major step towards natural breeding and long-term survival of cheetahs in India.

Kuno Still Has 50 Cheetahs

Officials said at least 14 adult cheetahs remain active in the wild inside Kuno National Park. Over the last three years, the project recorded 57 cub births. Out of them, 37 survived.

Only four cubs were born fully in the wild. Officials raised the remaining 33 cubs inside soft-release enclosures. Authorities currently count 50 cheetahs at Kuno National Park and three more at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.