Cheetah cub dies from firearm pellet wounds in Morena Territorial Forest Division
· India · Indian Express
A 19-month-old male cheetah cub named KNG22, born to cheetah Nirva at Kuno National Park, died after sustaining five firearm pellet injuries. Investigators recovered the pellets during emergency surgery at a veterinary facility in Jabalpur, confirming they originated from a traditional bharmar muzzle-loading firearm. The pellets were found in the cub's internal organs, musculoskeletal system, and nervous system, according to a CT scan at Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University. The cub was tracked by the Kuno monitoring team from 2am to 4am on October 27 before it was found injured in the Morena Territorial Forest Division. Officials noted a highly lackadaisical attitude among local monitoring staff, citing the region's high weapon prevalence and ongoing sand mining and leopard poaching activity.
Why it matters
The death underscores critical wildlife security failures in Kuno National Park, directly threatening the cheetah reintroduction programme and highlighting insufficient protection for endangered animals in a region plagued by illegal hunting and mining.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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