Video of cheetahs drinking water: KNP begins inquiry over staff indiscipline, violation of norms

Bhopal: Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park have initiated disciplinary action after a video showing a man offering water to a cheetah and her cubs went viral on social media.

In this incident, field staff violated the instructions and have shown indiscipline, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) Uttam Kumar Sharma said in a statement on Sunday.

"Further, a video was made and shared in the media disregarding every discipline and instructions in this regard. Action is being taken against the concerned staff," Sharma added.

KNP is located in Sheopur district, some 420 kilometres from Bhopal.

Sharing details about the video, Sharma said cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were moving in the fields close to human habitation in Agra range near the boundary of KNP.

"The monitoring team, in general, has been instructed to try to deviate/lure the cheetah back inside the forest whenever such a situation arises so as not to create human-cheetah conflict. Whenever a cheetah goes into agriculture fields or close to human habitation, additional staff is called from the concerned range. In this case too, additional field staff from range Agra was called," the APCCF said.

Since cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were continuously moving in the open agriculture fields in the sun and going towards human habitation, water was offered to lure them back towards the forest, he said.

"One of the drivers (a daily wager) of the vehicle hired for the duties of forest department in range Agra, Kuno WLD, gave water in a steel bowl to Jwala and her four cubs. There are clear instructions to move away from cheetahs as per training given to the monitoring team to handle cheetahs in close proximity. Only authorised persons can go in close proximity to cheetahs to perform a specific task," Sharma said.

In the clip of about 40 seconds, a man is seen pouring water from a can into a pan, following which five cheetahs sitting in the shade nearby walk up to the utensil and start drinking water.

The man initially appears hesitant to venture close to the cheetahs, but those behind him, including the person shooting the video, urge him to let the big cats drink water.

The man then pours water into a pan and sits on his haunches near the cheetahs for some time.

Earlier on Friday, another video showing cheetahs eating their prey had surfaced on social media.

Last month, several clips shared on social media showed a female cheetah and her four cubs near human settlements and at an under-construction railway bridge in Virpur tehsil.

At present, 17 cheetahs, including 11 cubs born on Indian soil, are roaming in the wild at KNP, while nine are in enclosures.

Eight Namibian cheetahs, five females and three males, were released in KNP on September 17, 2022, marking the first-ever intercontinental translocation of the big cats. In February 2023, 12 more cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to the sanctuary.

The protected forest now has 26 cheetahs, including 14 India-born cubs.