What does the shooting of a Kuno cheetah cub mean for Project Cheetah? | Explained

The cub KNG22 was an offspring of South African female cheetah Nirva. File photo for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: PTI The story so far: On the morning of Tuesday (October 27, 2026), a 19-month-old male cheetah cub died during treatment for five gunshot injuries at the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University (NDVSU), in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur.The cub KNG22, an offspring of South African female cheetah Nirva, was brought to Jabalpur on Monday (October 26, 2026) night for an emergency surgery, a day after he was found injured and unconscious outside the boundaries of its home, the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur district. This marked the first instance of a cheetah being shot since the Union Government launched its ambitious Project Cheetah, a reintroduction programme in September 2022. The cub was cremated on Thursday (October 29, 2026) at the KNP. Published - October 30, 2026 02:18 pm IST