Cheetah mother, cubs pelted with stones in Madhya Pradesh village

A female cheetah and her four cubs were pelted with stones as they tried to hunt a calf on the outskirts of a village in Madhya Pradesh, raising concerns over the implementation of Project Cheetah among conservationists and wildlife activists.

A female cheetah and her four cubs were pelted with stones on Monday (March 24, 2025) as they tried to hunt a calf on the outskirts of a village in Madhya Pradesh, raising concerns over the implementation of Project Cheetah among conservationists and wildlife activists.

According to official sources, the incident occurred around 9 a.m. near a village in Sheopur district, where cheetahs from Africa were introduced under the project to establish a meta population in India.

"Today, around 9 a.m., Jwala and her four cubs tried to hunt a cattle calf on the outskirts of Behardha village near farmlands. Seeing this, some villagers gathered and created a commotion to save the calf. One or two people also threw stones," an official source said.

The monitoring team present tried to prevent any further incident. Due to the disturbance, the cheetahs retreated into the forest where they are being tracked. All five cheetahs are healthy and safe, the source said.

Videos on social media purported to show the cheetahs near an under-construction railway bridge while several villagers, armed with sticks, stand at a distance. In one video, a cheetah attempts to hunt a calf but the villagers and the forest team drive it away.

The cheetahs were also spotted in farms in the Telipura village. The forest team advised the villagers to let the animals pass.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Project Cheetah Director Uttam Kumar Sharma urged people not to panic and allow the animals to move freely.