India vows action after reintroduced cheetah shot dead

India has vowed swift action after a reintroduced cheetah was shot dead, the first such killing since the country began bringing the animals back in 2022, the environment ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said it had ordered a high-level team to investigate the death of the 19-month-old male cheetah. The India-born animal was found wounded on Sunday in forests in Madhya Pradesh state, outside Kuno National Park, and was taken for veterinary care.

The ministry said five firearm pellets were recovered during surgery and medical examinations showed multiple internal injuries linked to the pellets. The cheetah died on Tuesday.

African cheetahs were first reintroduced to India in September 2022 at Kuno National Park, about 300 kilometres south of New Delhi, after Asiatic cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority, which oversees the project, said survival and hunting rates are comparable to other international cheetah reintroduction efforts. The total wild cheetah population in India is around 60, including about 40 Indian-born cheetahs.