Senior government official tells Down To Earth the cheetah’s action is ‘natural’
Oban, one of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia and released into Kuno National Park (KNP), escaped on the morning of April 2, 2023. It strayed into a village 20 kilometres from KNP and is currently under forest department surveillance, a senior official told Down To Earth (DTE).
Oban, along with another cheetah, Aasha, had been released into the wilds of KNP in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district on March 11.
“Oban was brought from Namibia and strayed into Vijaypur tehsil a few kilometres from the national park. Villagers informed the forest department after which teams swung into action,” Prakash Verma, divisional forest officer (DFO) at KNP, told DTE.
Verma said Oban found an open spot in the fencing and saw an opportunity to explore: “It is a wild animal’s natural behaviour to venture and explore its surroundings.”
He added that the cheetah entered Jhar Baroda village. “The animal has been spotted a couple of times after it escaped and its location is roughly known. We have a team of veterinarians and doctors who will assist once the cheetah is captured,” he said.
“There is no wild animal to hunt in that area and eventually, Oban is expected to find its way back to Kuno National Park,” Verma said, adding that Oban had not harmed any locals.
KNP is currently home to 19 adult African cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa as part of the Centre’s aim to reintroduce the species to India where it was declared extinct in 1952.
Twelve of the animals are from South Africa and 7 from Namibia. An eighth cheetah from Namibia, a female named Sasha, died on March 27 due to renal failure.
Another Namibian cheetah, a three-year-old female named Siyaya, gave birth to a litter of four cubs on March 29.
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Screen grab of footage shared by news agency ANI showing Oban at Jhar Baroda village in Vijayapur Tehsil. .png)
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