Multiple cheetah deaths in Kuno raise questions about habitat limits, prey scarcity, and management. A data-driven look at the challenges facing India’s cheetah project T wo back-to-back cheetah deaths—one from a suspected collision inside the forest and another caused by a speeding vehicle—have once again pushed the spotlight onto the ambitious yet troubled cheetah introduction project in Kuno National Park . While officials have issued preliminary statements, the absence of publicly released post-mortem and investigation reports related to the past such cases has deepened concerns about transparency at a time when clarity is essential. The recent incidents highlight the ecological and management challenges that continue to shape the project’s uncertain trajectory. Each Loss Is Significant Setback On December 5, Friday, one of Veera’s cubs recently released into the open forest, died after reportedly separating from its mother. Just two days later, on December 7, another young cheetah...
A tiger rescue - operation lasted for almost 12 hours in village on the edge of Pench National Park in Madha Pradesh . The tiger was first rescued from a well without parapet wall and then operated upon for a protruded rectum, believed to be the result of intense roaring and vocalization, a term used for SOS call for mother.
Yelling Crowd and Tiger Roar
It was about a year old cub in a village located in east Chhindwara territorial forest division, close to Pench tiger reserve , where the cub fell down in the well on August 25 . Excessive growth of weeds and grass around the well without parapet walls led to the mishap. After falling down in the well, the cub managed to catch hold of an iron stand, which must have been fitted to place a water pump inside the well. The location is a riverine Hardua village where the well is located. It is also a tiger movement area and the tiger corridor has been used by a tigress with 2 cubs these days.One of these cubs fell down in the well”, Dr Akhilesh Mishra, a veteran veterinarian of Pench tiger reserve said. He had led the 8 hour rescue operation to pull out the cub from the water body. The cub appeared to have fallen down into the well the previous night . In the morning, the well -owner heard a loud roaring of the tiger and informed the Pench national park management . By the time the park team arrived at the spot over 5000 villagers assembled near the spot.
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They yelled and scared the cub leading to more roaring and vocalisation. Dr Mishra said, “Intense roaring and vocalization also led to the rectum injury”. Had there been no onlookers, we could have finished the rescue task in 15 minutes. Managing the crowd is always difficult in such situations, said one of the team members involved in the operation. “Humans have been penetrating deep into tiger territory leading to man -tiger conflict and people become aggressive and agitated whenever they see a tiger near their village,even a tiger in distress, like the one inside the well”, a senior forest deparment officials said. Dr Mishra said that he did not tranquilize the cub as it would have fallen down into water risking his life. In may this year two tiger cubs were rescued the park team. They were alsmost killed by the villagers who had pelted stone. The incident had taken place in Pench -Kanha tiger corridor in a village of Seoni district where Pench national park is located.
Tiger Outside Protected Forests Unsafe
The rescue team took the help of a crane and lowered down a cage with meat inside it. And after repeated attempts when the cub went inside the cage to fetch a meat piece, its gate was closed down immediately. The cage was lifted out from the well. The cub was then transported to Bhopal in Van Vihar national park, a rescue centre, where Dr Atul Gupta operated upon the injured rectum. The operation again went on for a few hours.
Also read: Stone Pelting on Tiger Cubs :Kanha Pench Corridor Becomes Conflict Zone
Though the tiger cub was rescued and operated upon, it is still not sure whether it would survive or not. There are an estimated 80 tigers in Pench including the cubs and sub adults. Many times tigresses move out of the jungle along with cubs to them from the male tigers. But the presence of humans, increasing area of cultivation on the forest fringes and other development works lead to confrontation of the animal with villages risking the life of tigers.
Images Courtsey Pench National Park
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