Two cheetahs emerged from the open forests of Kuno National Park, located in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, and entered a house in one of the villages, where they attacked two calves, causing panic. Furthermore, the couple who were sleeping in the house fled to save their lives.
Chaos broke out in the village during the incident. However, a cheetah tracking team arrived at the scene and reduced the fear among the residents. The forest department assured the affected farmer that proper compensation would be provided.
The incident occurred in the village of Bamori in Sheopur district early on Sunday morning, around 5 am. Two cheetahs burst into the hut and killed two calves. At the time, the shepherd Somla Vir Singh was sleeping in the same hut with his wife, and both calves were tied nearby.
According to Somla, the cheetahs attacked the calves early in the morning, causing chaos. Seeing the cheetahs, the husband and wife panicked, got up from the cot, and ran away to save their lives.
After this incident, an atmosphere of fear prevails in Bamori and surrounding villages. Residents are very afraid of cheetah movement near residential areas. Following the event, residents expressed dissatisfaction with the administration, demanding that the forest department immediately increase patrolling in the village and surrounding fields, as well as provide fair compensation to the affected shepherd Somla Vir Singh for the damage.
Uttam Kumar Sharma, Director of the Cheetah Project, told 'AajTak' by phone that the killing of calves by cheetahs occurred in Bamori village. He emphasized that their tracking team is present around the clock, and the cheetahs do not attack people. He also stated that the affected shepherd will be paid the stipulated compensation for the loss of calves.
It was also noted that there are 53 cheetahs in Kuno National Park, 40 of which were born in India. Thus, the total number of cheetahs in the country reaches 59. Among them, 4 are in Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary and 2 are in Tigra Virangana Durgavati Sanctuary. Currently, 15 cheetahs roam freely in the open forests of Kuno.