A 19-month-old India-born cheetah found injured outside Kuno National Park has died, prompting the environment ministry to send a high-level team to Madhya Pradesh.

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• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change deputed a high-level central team on October 28, 2026, to investigate the death of a cheetah at Kuno National Park.
• The animal was a 19-month-old male, identified as KNG22 and born to the cheetah Nirva.
• It was found injured on October 25 in the territorial forests of Morena, outside the protected area of Kuno National Park.
• It died on October 27 despite medical intervention, and examinations found multiple internal injuries linked to recovered firearm pellets.
• The death is the first reported killing of a cheetah by gunfire since India began reintroducing the species in 2022.
• The three-member central team includes the Inspector General of Forests at the National Tiger Conservation Authority and two Wildlife Crime Control Bureau officers.
• The team will examine the circumstances of the death and all available evidence, and coordinate with the Madhya Pradesh forest department.
• The Madhya Pradesh government has already formed a Special Task Force of forest and police officers to investigate.
• The central team will also review security protocols and the monitoring and protection measures for the reintroduced cheetahs.
• It will submit findings to the Ministry, which will issue further directions to the state government and field authorities.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority says cheetah survival and hunting success are comparable to other reintroduction efforts, with about 60 cheetahs in the wild, around 40 of them Indian-born.