Cheetah 'Agni' Tranquilised And Brought Back To Kuno National Park, After Straying Into Rajasthan

Forest officials at the Kuno National Park in Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh on Monday tranquilised and repatriated an African Cheetah that had strayed into neighbouring Rajasthan.

The Cheetah, Agni, was released into the wild along with another big cat named Vayu in the Parond forest range, which is part of Ahera tourism zone of Kuno National Park, on Sunday.

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Tranqulised in Rajasthan

But Agni strayed into the forest in Rajasthan's Baran district forcing authorities to tranquilise it.

Cheetah Agni had passed through the forests of Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh and reached the forests of Kelwara in the Baran district.

"A cheetah had strayed from Kuno National Park and reached the forests of Baran, which was rescued by the team and taken to Kuno National Park. The forest of Kuno National Park and the forest of Baran district have the same border, both are adjacent to each other, hence many times wild animals move from there to here and from here to there. Even a fortnight ago, the movement of a Cheetah was seen in the forests of the Shahabad area but it died a few days ago," DFO Deepak Gupta said.

Four Cheetahs released into wild

The two cheetahs were released into the wild on December 17 as part of the 'Cheetah Reintroduction Project' and allow tourists to see the animals in the designated area.

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So far four Cheetahs have been released into the wild, where they can be seen by visitors.

Ever since the Cheetahs were brought to India in September 2022, they were off-limits for tourists.

Project Cheetah

Earlier this year, following the death of nine Cheetahs, including three cubs, between March and August, the remaining big cats, (seven males, as many females, and a cub) were kept in bomas (enclosures) in KNP for monitoring of their health parameters by a team of veterinarians.

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So far twenty Cheetahs, from Namibia and South Africa have been brought to India in two batches as part of the ambitious reintroduction programme.

The next batch of Cheetahs that is expected to reach India soon will be housed in the Gandhisagar wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

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