Cheetah missing from Kuno hit by vehicle, found dead on highway
This is the second death of a cheetah from Kuno this week --- a cub was found dead on Friday, a day after it was released into the wild with its mother and sibling
Forest teams had been monitoring both cheetahs through their satellite collar IDs and received an immediate alert after the accident. (File)
One of two cheetahs that had escaped from Kuno National Park was killed early Sunday morning after being hit by a vehicle on the Agra–Mumbai National Highway near the Simariya turn in Gwalior district’s Ghatigaon.
This is the second death of a cheetah from Kuno this week — a cub was found dead on Friday, a day after it was released into the wild with its mother and sibling.
The young cheetah that was killed on Sunday was hit by the vehicle between 5 and 6 am and died instantly on the roadside after wandering out of the forest and onto the Shivpuri Link Road. Forest officials have detained the driver and launched an investigation, while a search operation continues for the second escaped cheetah, which remains at large in the Ghatigaon forest area, officials said.
“The incident occurred between 5 and 6 am on Sunday. The cheetah was killed after a vehicle hit it. We have managed to apprehend the driver of the vehicle and are investigating the case,” Kuno National Park director Uttam Kumar Sharma told The Indian Express.
Forest teams had been monitoring both cheetahs through their satellite collar IDs and received an immediate alert after the accident. As soon as information reached authorities, Ghatigaon police and forest officials cordoned off the area. A crowd gathered at the spot, but forest officials restricted access, not allowing even police personnel near the carcass. The body has been transported to Kuno, where a panel of experts will conduct a postmortem. All procedures are being handled solely by the forest department.
According to officials, the two young cheetahs had moved from Kuno into the Ghatigaon forest area in recent days. As they attempted to cross the busy Agra–Mumbai Highway around 5 am on Sunday, one was struck by the vehicle. Locals informed authorities after spotting the body on the roadside.
Said a senior wildlife official, “The escaped cheetahs had been under close monitoring by a forest team from Kuno, with their location traced near Simariya turn. On Saturday evening, the pair had attacked and killed a cow in the Simariya area, prompting forest officials to maintain a presence in the vicinity since then. There is a lot of pressure on the monitoring team to track the other cheetah and to avoid further deaths.”
Another death
Story continues below this ad
The highway fatality comes just two days after another cheetah death. On Friday, one of cheetah Veera’s two cubs died, barely a day after being released into the wild with its mother and sibling in the Parond range on December 4. The cub, found approximately 1.5 kilometres from the release site, appears to have been separated from its family during the night.
Wildlife officials suspect the cub may have broken its neck in a fall, as it was discovered at the base of a hillock.
With Sunday’s death, Kuno National Park’s cheetah population now stands at 27 — eight adults (five females and three males) and 19 India-born cubs. Madhya Pradesh is now left with 30 cheetahs in total, with 27 at Kuno and three that were moved to the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary earlier this year. All surviving cheetahs are reported to be in good health, officials said.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
4 min read
