A herd of five cheetahs from the Kuno Sanctuary in Sheopur district has been roaming across different parts of Shivpuri district for the past two days, sparking both concern and fascination among locals. The cheetahs reportedly stayed for over 24 hours at the farmhouse of former MLA Mr. Jagdish Verma in Kirauli village, located in Pohri tehsil of Shivpuri, which shares a forest border with the Kuno Sanctuary.
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Mr. Pradyuman Verma, BJP leader and son of the former MLA, confirmed the sighting and said the cheetahs were seen around the water pond on their property, where they also hunted three sheep. “It’s rare to spot these animals even inside the sanctuary, but here they stayed on our farmland for over a day. I invited friends and relatives to see them and even managed to photograph them,” said Mr. Verma.
The cheetahs are believed to have crossed over through the forest corridor connecting Pohri in Shivpuri with the adjoining Kuno forest in Sheopur. Over the last two days, they have been spotted in Kirauli, Ramkhedi, and Tharra villages—roughly 10 km from Shivpuri.
Local villagers, initially stunned by the sight, soon alerted police and forest officials. Forest department personnel and police teams reached the affected areas promptly and began monitoring the movement of the cheetahs while ensuring the safety of residents and the animals.
The unexpected presence of the cheetahs has highlighted the porous boundaries between protected wildlife areas and human settlements. It also raises fresh questions about wildlife management and the need for sustained monitoring around the Kuno Sanctuary, which has been central to India’s cheetah reintroduction programme.
Officials have assured that steps are being taken to guide the animals back to their natural habitat and to prevent any potential human-wildlife conflict.
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