Never killed for fun: Granddaughter of king accused of killing India's last cheetahs
India Today
Ambica Singh Deo, a member of the erstwhile Koriya royal family, recollected how she grew up with many legends/stories, including the stories of hunting expeditions of her forefathers.
70 years after the extinction from India, the cheetahs are back on Indian soil. Eight big cats were released into the wildlife in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno-Palpur National Park (KPNP) on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who termed it a "historic day".
India Today caught up with Ambica Singh Deo, member of the erstwhile Koriya royal family and incumbent Congress MLA from Chhattisgarh. She is the granddaughter of Raja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo, who allegedly was one of the reasons why Asiatic Cheetahs in India went extinct and whose picture posing with the last three dead cheetahs back in 1947 is all over the internet.
Ambica was born in 1968 while her grandfather passed away in 1958, but a lot of tales were passed on to her. Giving a sneak peek into the bygone era, she recollected her childhood memories of how she grew up with many legends/stories, including the stories of hunting expeditions of her forefathers.
“Once in 1940, when my grandfather was away from the kingdom, one man-eater tiger had created terror for villagers. My father, Mahendra Pratap Singh, took this task upon himself and ultimately hunted the predator. He was barely 12 years old at that time,” Ambica said, adding, unlike how hunting expeditions are depicted in the media and movies, they were always not for fun.
She further stated, “In fact, only man-eater animals were hunted by the royal family, accompanied by stationed British officers.”
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“Many times, villagers would approach us to get rid of man-eater animals. Imagine, in those days, how difficult it was to survive with so many wild animals around in dense forest areas. There were never unnecessary kills or mindless games,” Ambica stated.
