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Four Cheetah Cubs Born in Wild at Kuno National Park Found Dead, Likely Killed by Leopard
The four cubs of female cheetah KGP12 were found dead on 13 May 2026 near their den site in Sheopur Territorial Division, with officials citing predation. The deaths represent the latest setback for India's Cheetah reintroduction project, which began in September 2022 and has seen 22 cheetah deaths overall. India now has 53 cheetahs in the programme, nearly all at Kuno.
The IndependentAudio version
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A leopard likely killed four cheetah cubs born one month earlier in central India's Kuno National Park, officials said on 13 May 2026. Partially eaten bodies of the cubs were found by a monitoring team early that morning near the den site in Sheopur Territorial Division. The corpses bore deep wounds suggesting they were attacked by a leopard.
The four cubs belonged to female cheetah KGP12. They were last seen alive on the evening of 11 April 2026 and had been under constant observation.
"Prima facie, the incident appears to be predation by another animal. The mother cheetah is safe and healthy," park officials said in a statement. The Independent reported that Kuno National Park is home to a large population of apex predators including leopards, wolves, hyenas, and wild dogs.
These apex predators had been flagged as a major threat to the incoming African cheetahs. India declared the Asiatic cheetah extinct in 1952. The country's Cheetah reintroduction project started four years ago by importing big cats from Africa.
The cheetahs were donated to India by South Africa and Namibia. Project Cheetah began in September 2022. In all, 22 cheetahs have died since the reintroduction programme began in September 2022. Several cheetahs died within the first two years due to territorial threats, sickness, dehydration, and maggot-infestation from wet monitor collars.
Even so, multiple cheetahs imported from Africa and their offspring born in India have given birth. India now has a total of 53 cheetahs. All but three of the 53 cheetahs are in Kuno National Park. Officials celebrated the birth of the four cubs as a “baby boom”.
