Cheetah Jwala and her 4 cubs' stroll outside Kuno turns chaotic as villagers hurl stones at them

Villagers in Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh, recently tried to attack a female cheetah named Jwala and her four cubs. The incident occurred after the cheetahs pounced on a calf outside the protected boundaries of Kuno National Park. The villagers, armed with stones and canes, attempted to scare the cheetahs away, leading to a tense situation.

According to a report by TOI, the cheetahs were near the Sheopur-Gwalior railway line when they spotted a herd of calves. Driven by hunger, they targeted one of the calves. However, a crowd of villagers quickly gathered, throwing stones and waving sticks, forcing the cheetahs to abandon their hunt and retreat into the forest.



The tracking team and forest officials on the scene managed to control the crowd and ensured the safety of Jwala and her cubs. A video of the villagers throwing stones at the cheetahs has gone viral on social media, sparking concerns about the safety of wildlife beyond park boundaries.

Uttam Sharma, Director of the Lion Project, told TOI, “Continued efforts are being made to raise awareness about cheetahs. Cheetahs remain unbothered by the presence of humans, and people will gradually adapt to living alongside them.”

Jwala, a female cheetah from Namibia, and her cubs were released into the wild in February this year as part of a significant project to reintroduce cheetahs to India. With this release, the total number of cheetahs in Kuno National Park has grown to 26. Despite the progress of the reintroduction project, this incident highlights the challenges of wildlife conservation near human settlements.

Inputs from TOI