Cheetah Jwala & cubs attacked by villagers in Madhya Pradesh

Villagers in Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh attacked a female cheetah named Jwala and her four cubs. The incident happened when the cheetahs, which had strayed from Kuno National Park (KNP), attempted to hunt a cattle calf near the Sheopur-Gwalior railway line.

A video of the attack surfaced on social media, showing Jwala gripping the calf’s neck. As villagers threw stones at her, she got startled, released the calf, and ran away with her cubs. Some villagers were also seen chasing the cheetahs with sticks. The sudden attack forced the animals to flee back into the forests of KNP.

A female #cheetah, Jwala, was hunting with her cubs when villagers were stoning and chasing her away. What kind of awareness is this? What kind of wildlife management is this? #kuno @CMMadhyaPradesh @NTANewsNow @PMOIndia @minforestmp pic.twitter.com/6mEmi7s5FY

— ajay dubey (@Ajaydubey9) March 24, 2025

Jwala and her cubs are among the three sets of African female cheetahs and their offspring that have been released into the free-ranging forests of KNP since February. On February 21, Jwala and her cubs were released into the wild from their enclosures. For the first time since their release, they left the park boundary on March 23 and roamed near the village. They were spotted near Shyampur village, about a kilometer from the under-construction Sheopur-Gwalior railway track.

On the morning of March 25, Jwala and her cubs moved toward the Kuno River and rested under a railway bridge. A crowd of villagers gathered to watch them. Later, when the cheetahs tried to cross the road, Jwala attacked a cow. Seeing this, villagers rushed toward the cheetahs with sticks and threw stones. After being hit, Jwala released the cow and ran away with her cubs.

The tracking team from the forest department swiftly arrived at the location and advised the villagers not to inflict harm on the cheetahs. Uttam Kumar Sharma, Director of the Cheetah Project, said that villagers should not be afraid of the cheetahs and should allow them to move freely. He also reminded them that cattle owners receive compensation if a cheetah hunts their livestock.

This is the first time villagers have attacked cheetahs in India since their reintroduction in KNP. Previously, cheetahs have wandered outside the park, even into neighboring states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, but they had not faced aggression from locals.

Currently, KNP has 26 cheetahs, with 17 roaming in the wild and nine in enclosures. Forest officials are working to create awareness among villagers to help them coexist peacefully with the cheetahs and avoid using violence against them.

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