Overview
- KGP11, a 27‑month‑old cheetah born in India, was found injured in the Pahargarh area of Morena district on June 1 and died on Saturday while receiving intensive care at the Palpur veterinary facility in Kuno.
- Park director Uttam Sharma said the veterinary and field teams treated the animal for five days before it succumbed and that a post‑mortem is set for June 7 to establish the exact cause of death.
- Officials have noted preliminary signs of internal haemorrhaging and are investigating whether injuries came from a fight with another wild animal, but definitive findings await the post‑mortem report.
- With KGP11’s death Kuno’s cheetah population falls to 49 and India’s total drops to 52, a shift that officials say will be reflected in ongoing monitoring and population accounting.
- Project Cheetah began in September 2022 with translocations from Namibia and later South Africa and Botswana, and recent losses including four cub deaths in May have highlighted management and monitoring challenges for the reintroduction effort.